


Dystopia

by soundoutz



Category: HINAPIA (Band), LOONA (Korea Band), PRISTIN (Band)
Genre: Established Relationship, Implied/Referenced Torture, Inspired By BNHA, Kinda, Mild Gore, Superpowers, Vampire Yerim, Villains
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-05
Updated: 2020-11-01
Packaged: 2021-03-02 20:42:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 51,275
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24023050
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/soundoutz/pseuds/soundoutz
Summary: Hero agency OSR and villain/mafia organization Pledis have been in a constant battle against each other.(Reposting because I had a lot of formatting errors)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 5





	1. Preface

**[Obsidian]**

It was uncharacteristically quiet in OSR’s lobby. The sun shone through the large window behind the receptionist’s desk, nearly blinding the new hero as she sat in the corner of the room, bouncing a knee from anxiety.

They had only been heroes for a few months, yet somehow they already found themselves in trouble.

Her friend sat beside her and stretched her wings, draping one comfortingly over her shoulders. 

“It’ll be okay, kid,” Sungyeon whispered, although worry was evident on her face as well. “Kahi should be understanding if she prophesized this happening in the first place.”

“Yeah, right,” came a more abrupt voice from across the room, and Kyla briefly glanced up to see her other friend making her way over. “How much do you wanna bet that she’ll kick us out of the agency? ‘Cause I’m pretty sure that’s what’s going to happen.”

“You don’t know that, Siyeon.” Sungyeon bit back, her wings dropping.

Siyeon frowned and stopped right in front of the bird mutant. “How are you so sure she  _ isn’t  _ going to kick us out?” 

Sungyeon looked mildly stumped but continued to argue anyway. “If she could foresee what we were planning on doing why wouldn’t she stop us?”

“Why  _ wouldn’t  _ she? More like why  _ would  _ she? As heroes, we have to learn from our mistakes, so maybe this was her way of making us realize that. Kicking us out would certainly do the trick.”

“Kahi isn’t that big of an asshole, idiot. Besides, what happened wasn’t even that big of a deal, I doubt the punishment will be that large, to begin with-”

“Oh, it was a big deal alright.” from the corner of the room the secretary, Yunjin, spoke up. She had been busy on her phone up until this point, but she had put it down in favour of the fight that was brewing in front of her. “You guys messed us as an agency up big time. Did you know how long the pros had to work after hours to try and cover up your tracks?” 

As much as it was true, Kyla wished she didn’t hear those words. Yewon, who hadn’t spoken since they got to the agency, started to mumble. “I still can’t believe we actually-”

“I can’t believe you guys did that either,” Yunjin’s tone was humorous but the way she was frowning made Kyla feel even worse. “Oh well, though. It’s done now. Let me know what your punishment is when you get out of Kahi’s office - I’m curious.” the girl snickered and promptly went back to messing with her phone. 

Kyla could feel herself glaring at the girl behind the desk and moved her gaze to the floor. At least it was only the five of them in the room - being openly humiliated in front of other heroes was not something she wanted to have checked off on her bucket list - even though that’s probably what they were about to endure at the meeting. 

Feeling antsy, she pulled her phone out as well as a distraction. It was 10:12 - they had been requested to visit Kahi’s office at 10:30, but only with some of the other heroes in tow.

As soon as she was about to voice her annoyance at the slow time, the big glass doors to the agency swung open. In walked three of the pro heroes, out of their hero gear for once. The three girls wore awfully casual clothes, which made Kyla even more __ self-conscious in her pencil skirt and blouse. 

“You guys were waiting for us?” Jiwoo asks as soon as the doors close behind her. 

“We were told to.” Kyla bites a little more angrily than she would’ve liked. The pro hero either doesn’t notice or ignores it, however, because she smiles and thanks them. 

The seven of them waved goodbye to Yunjin and piled into the large elevator at the back of the room. Yewon pushed the button for the 12th floor and immediately shuffled into a corner. Kyla shifted to stand beside the girl, slipping a hand in hers for comfort. 

The elevator ride was quiet for the most part. Kyla felt her bones shake from how on edge she was. Meeting with the boss was never a good thing - unless they knew for a fact they did something exceptionally heroic. 

Getting caught while trying to barge into a known gang’s hideout was definitely not heroic. 

“So…” Jiwoo couldn’t seem to keep the grin off her face. “How was your hiatus?”

No one responded. Yewon sniffled, and Kyla swore she heard Siyeon let out a sigh.

“It was fine, Pierrot,” Kyla says after a moment. “How has OSR been in the time we were gone?”

“Oh, we aren’t on duty, so just call me Jiwoo.” the hero grins and waves her hand dismissively. “Aside from the normal hero jobs, nothing new and exciting popped up. You guys certainly keep us on our toes.”

“That they certainly do,” Jinsoul mumbled. She locked eyes with Kyla. “Enlighten me. What exactly made you guys think trying to infiltrate YG was a good idea?” 

“Stop, Jinnie. They’re already nervous, don’t make it worse.” Heejin says from beside the pro, elbowing the girl in the side. Kyla exchanges a nervous look with Yewon as the three adults start to bicker, continuing even as the elevator doors open. 

The girls step out and are immediately escorted into a meeting room down the hall. Yewon’s grip on Kyla’s hand tightens as they sit down at a long table together, the other heroes joining.

Moments later, the doors open again and Kahi steps in, followed by the remainder of the heroes. The table is quickly filled, with Kahi at the far end.

“Let’s get right to it,” Kahi says as soon as everyone is seated, “After all, we all know why we’re here.”

Sungyeon stands up, fists clenched. Kyla squeezes her eyes shut because whatever she’s about to say will  _ not  _ be good. “With all due respect, I don’t think we were in the wrong.” she snaps. “As heroes, we should be focusing on saving as many people as possible, and I couldn’t just let YG do as they please and not do anything to stop them.”

“I doubt that was your only option,” Nayoung says from across the table, a neutral expression locked on her face. “We as pro heroes were already aware of the gang and were formulating a proper plan to take care of them. You were all aware of this, and still you proceeded to act without our permission.”

Sungyeon looked like she was going to launch herself over the table and attack the woman. “If I remember correctly, we  _ asked  _ if you had any plans for an attack, and you said no.”

“Yeah,  _ attack _ ,” Heejin spoke up, and when Kyla looked over she realized how  _ tired _ she looked. Her ears were starting to droop, but somehow her eyes remained alert. “We try to keep neutral relationships with gangs and the mafia, in case you couldn’t tell. Trying to attack them wouldn’t necessarily put us in their good books.”

Some of the other heroes started to mumble to each other, which just seemed to rile Sungyeon up. Siyeon stood up as well, slamming her hands down on the table.

“So you just expected us to  _ sit here  _ and not do anything? When YG was the main group that was responsible for  _ kidnapping Bada? _ Are you fucking serio-”

“That’s enough, Junghyeon,” Kahi says softly, her voice quiet but carrying across the room enough to shut everyone up. “Sit down, both of you.”

Kyla inwardly gasped at the use of Siyeon’s actual name and watched as both of her friends slowly sat down. 

“I understand that YG is still a sensitive topic for a lot of you,” the boss spoke to the entire table but her words are aimed at Kyla and her friends, “But as heroes, you need to learn to separate your personal feelings from work.” 

Kahi tilted her head back, and when she did so Kyla saw all the scars littering the woman’s neck. Hero scars. 

“Pledis as a whole has more than twice the amount of people under their belt than OSR. Even just one of their side gangs holds more power and weapons than we could ever hope for.” She let out a sigh and scanned the different heroes at the table. “It’s because of this that thoroughly planned and quiet attacks are best.”

None of the girls said anything. Kyla could feel all the pro heroes staring at them. 

“After you were caught, it took us a lot of bribing and apologizing for YG to let this go.” She continued. “They wanted you four girls killed, you know. You should be lucky that’s not how we do things around here, but for your own safety you should be more careful.”

Kyla felt her ears redden as she stared at the table. Getting a lecture from Kahi on its own was scary, but a lecture in front of literally every single pro hero was even more horrifying.

“Now, I’m sure you guys realize there is a consequence to your actions,” Kyla looked up and saw Kahi shuffling through some papers on the table. “And trust me, you  _ will _ get a punishment. First, though, I want us as a team to go over a few reminders.”

She plucked a single sheet out of the pile and flattened the edges. She cleared her throat and began to read the words out loud. 

“Newly debuted heroes are to always accompany another new hero when on duty. This is to reduce the risk of kidnappings as well as increasing citizen protection. If this rule is disregarded up to five separate occasions, the new heroes must be accompanied by a pro hero until the month is up.” 

Kyla stiffened and glanced at her friends out of the corner of her eye. Siyeon had definitely bragged about patrolling by herself more than once. How come no one remembered that was against the rules? 

Kahi continued. “Taking off a hero costume while in public is considered to encourage altering the public’s view of a hero persona and thus must be avoided to maintain a good reputation.” she looked around at everyone, her eyes remaining on Kyungwon for more than a few long moments. The hero looked mildly embarrassed but didn’t say anything. 

“Finally…” Kahi leaned forward again. “All plans regarding raids and patrols must be explained or at least mentioned to the head of OSR, Kahi. Neglecting this rule or forgetting to do so will result in dismissal from OSR and a permanent ban from the agency’s grounds.”

A heavy silence settled upon the group. 

“That got you girls thinking, hey?” Kahi let out a small smile. “Then you’re lucky I’m so nice. Today is not the day you’re leaving OSR, thankfully.”

After the long silence from everyone else’s part, Kyla decided to speak. “But…?”

“ _ But…” _ Kahi’s smile turned to a grin. “You still violated three out of five rules we have here in OSR. As much as I need you girls in the agency, I can’t just let that slip by, so I’m still going to punish you.”

Everyone seemed tense - even the pro heroes. Kyla waited with bated breath as Kahi seemed to soak in all the nervous energy.

“You four will work under the top three heroes as sidekicks for the entire month of April. The other heroes are to not help you with any work at all, and any type of decision you make regarding your work  _ must  _ be run by either Gravestone, Kumo, or Beowoof. Every week one of you will be assigned to each of the pros, and one unassigned girl will be stuck working in the office with me until the following Monday. Altogether, these duties will show you what being a good hero is really like, and will hopefully give the four of you girls a little more perspective.” 

The other heroes seemed to relax at those words, but Kyla couldn’t help but tense up. The top three heroes? Working 1:1 with  _ Kahi? _

“Of course, there is the off chance that one of you - or all of you, who am I kidding - doesn’t fully follow through with the duties or doesn’t do as good of a job as I would like,” Kahi continued, “So if any of the other girls think you’re either doing a poor job or just outright not fit for hero work, I won’t hesitate to fire you at the end of the month - or sooner, whichever seems the most appropriate.” The smile was gone on her face by now, and she stared at the girls with an unsettling frown. 

“You start back here Monday. Got it?”

Kyla stood up, followed by her three friends. They all bowed and agreed in unison. 

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Good. The meeting is over, everyone except for Kaeun and Raina can go home.” 

Everyone quickly stood and filed out. Kyla didn’t miss the looks she got from the top three heroes and felt regret sink into her stomach. Disappointing her boss was one thing, but disappointing her  _ idols _ was another.

As the four of them were moving to the door, Yewon stopped them. “I have a question for Kahi before we leave,” she said quietly, catching Siyeon and Sungyeon’s attention.

Kahi was just moving to leave when Yewon got her attention. “We- or, well… I have a question for you.”

Up close Kahi was a lot less intimidating, but her eyes still held a certain sharpness to it that closed Kyla’s throat. “What is it?”

“Well…” Yewon shifted from one foot to the other. “Your power lets you see the different paths an action will take, right? Couldn’t you see that we were planning on infiltrating YG even if we never spoke to you about it directly?” 

Their boss looked mildly amused but masked it quickly. “Why, yes. In fact, I could see all the different outcomes of it as well.”

Kyla couldn’t help but blurt out the question they’d be wondering for hours on end. “Why didn’t you stop us?”

Kahi moves to the door frame, a twinkle in her eyes. “If I tried to stop you, wouldn’t you do it anyway?” She asked, and Kyla felt mildly hurt that she would think they’d disobey her like that. “Besides…” 

Their boss turned around and began to leave the room, shouting the last few words over her shoulder.

“How would you learn from your mistakes if I stopped you before every decision like that?” 


	2. Chapter 1 - Part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Salem - Bae Sungyeon

Kahi’s words still rang in Sungyeon’s head three days after the meeting. Never before had she messed up this badly and the regret was starting to sink in.

Regardless, part of her still feels like attempting to infiltrate YG was a good idea - and she knows Siyeon feels the same way.

Bada’s kidnapping had impacted the four of them immensely. They had trained together and had even planned to debut as a group of five when the time came.

The youngest girl ended up being gone for so long that the others were persuaded to debut on their own as a group of four, two months before Bada was found.

It was obviously still a sore spot for them.

This is why, Monday morning, Sungyeon feels nothing but sheer frustration as she continuously glares at oncoming traffic from behind the steering wheel of her car.

“Man, even some of the biggest hero fan sites are disappointed in us,” Yewon complains from the passenger seat. Sungyeon stays quiet and grips the wheel harder, staying silent.

“I mean… it’s understandable,” Kyla says from behind them. “I think the fact that they were given no context to our hiatus makes it even worse. It’s easy for them to think up wild scenarios and make us seem like even bigger idiots.”

Sungyeon felt her blood start to boil at the thought of the people she was protecting thinking less of her. Were they even going to respect her now?

“We _are_ dumbasses, though.” Siyeon is starting to laugh and it makes Sungyeon grit her teeth. “You’re always talking about how you want to be closer to the public, Kyla. Actually showing them our real personalities and not just showing that ‘holier than thou’ attitude helps that.”

“That’s not what I meant and you know that.” Kyla grumbles. Something in Sungyeon snaps and she swings her head around to glare at the girls.

“Can you guys shut up until we get there? My talons are hurting from these fucking socks and traffic is stressing me out. Talking about what happened isn’t helping.”

“There isn’t really any traffic, th-”

“Siyeon.” Sungyeon had to look back to the road to avoid crashing and missed the way Kyla and Siyeon exchange a look.

The rest of the car ride was silent.

Ten minutes later, Sungyeon pulls into her parking spot outside of the agency. All the other cars were occupying their usual spots, which sends a jolt of anxiety through her system. Without waiting for the others in the car, she turns the engine off and hops out, slamming the door behind her.

She slows down upon entering the building, stretching her wings out and letting the air conditioning slide over her feathers.

The lobby is as empty as it was on Friday, with Yunjin at her usual position behind the desk. A familiar face is standing on the other side, chatting with the secretary in a very animated way. Sungyeon ignores the sounds of her fellow heroes entering the building behind her and makes her way over to the desk.

“Raina,” she cut into the conversation, smiling slightly when the girls jump at the sudden additional voice. “What are you doing on the ground floor?”

The older woman swung her head over her shoulder. “Hey, Sungyeon. Oh, the others are here too.” The medic gave a small wave and looked at Sungyeon. “I was told to escort you. I’m going with you to your meeting with the Big Three.”

A hand slipped into Sungyeon’s, and she didn’t even need to look to know who it was. “You’re accompanying us? What for?” Yewon asks.

Raina looks a bit apologetic but quickly replaces the expression with one more neutral. “I’m not sure I’m allowed to explain, so I’ll just wait until we get there.”

Sungyeon checks the time on her phone and nods. “We might as well head there early, then.” she says, nodding at Yunjin before moving to the elevator, tugging Yewon along.

The others silently filed into the elevator. Sungyeon chose to ignore the jab to the ribs Siyeon delivered, her blood still boiling.

Riding to the pro hero floor was much shorter than the ride to Kahi’s office, so Sungyeon had much less time to collect her thoughts. Feeling a sense of deja vu from Friday, she immediately led the group down the hall to the meeting room, bypassing the small offices containing the other heroes.

The top three heroes - or the _Big Three_ , as they liked to be called - sat haphazardly around the room. Nayoung was sitting in a bean bag chair in the corner, Minkyung sat upright at the table in the center of the room, and Kyungwon…

“Why the hell are you laying on the table?” Sungyeon let out before she could stop herself. She heard Raina and Siyeon laugh from behind her.

The youngest of the trio lifted her head up from where she was spread out along the table, feet upwards in the air like a child. “It’s hot in here.” the hero responded, flapping her arms out for emphasis. “I just wanted to cool down.”

“I told her to go sit in the lobby where there was better air conditioning, but she wouldn’t listen to me.” Nayoung says, looking up briefly from her phone to observe the new heroes. Sungyeon offered a small smile as a greeting but was met with a blank stare in return. _Well, fuck you too._

“Don’t you know how to regulate your temperature by now, Kyungwon? I feel like that’s something dog hybrids can do.” Yewon asks, dropping Sungyeon’s hand as she walked over to the table.

“Well, yeah. It’s a lot more difficult when I’m not allowed to strip anymore, though.” Kyungwon grumbled, sitting up straight and swinging her legs over the table. Sungyeon hummed and took a seat, a few down from Minkyung but close to her nonetheless.

“I feel like you shouldn’t have been allowed to _strip_ in the first place.” Nayoung says from the corner of the room. The wolf hero groans again and jumps off the table, shaking it a little.

“That’s no fun at all.” Kyungwon says, stretching before plopping down into the chair across from Sungyeon. Her eyes twinkle and it helped the new hero relax a little. Nayoung and Minkyung had always been so strict and uptight, so having the complete opposite of them was like a breath of fresh air sometimes. “Are we gonna start the meeting or what?”

“It’s more so a _briefing_ than anything, but go ahead.” Nayoung speaks, and when Sungyeon looks over she doesn’t seem like she’s going to move from her bean bag. Kyla and Siyeon take the seats beside Kyungwon, and Minkyung finally speaks.

“Yes, we might as well.” the slender hero withdraws a small piece of paper from her purse and lays it out on the table, smoothing out the edges. Sungyeon could see Minkyung’s neat handwriting across the surface, the entire page full of different notes.

“First of all, I would like to start off by saying I do believe that this is a fair punishment, and I will personally make sure you four are not overstepping or slacking off.”

Seeing as how no one was replying, the hero took the liberty of continuing. “For this week, Obsidian will be working with me, X will be with Gravestone, and Juniper will be with Beowoof. Salem, that means you are to work under Kahi’s supervision for this week. As soon as we are done here, we will head out to our respective patrol and training sections, and Salem is to go immediately to Kahi’s office.”

Sungyeon let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding, swallowing her annoyance at the woman using their hero names when they were off duty. Damn. _At least I get the scariest supervision out of the way first,_ she thought absentmindedly. The back of her neck twitched for a second, but she ignored it.

“This is just for this week, correct?” Kyla asked.

“Yes. Why, do you not want to be paired with me?” Minkyung asked, and although the question was a bit harsh, there was a tinge of humour in the hero’s voice. Sungyeon resisted making a surprised noise. _Who knew she can actually be sarcastic?_

“No! That’s not it. I just wanted to confirm.” Kyla looked a bit embarrassed.

Sungyeon started to get lost in her thoughts as the rest of the girls continued to chat for a moment. Her anger was still bubbling, but having more time to think things through was proving to be a little helpful.

_Kahi, huh? If I’m not an asshole to her, this week will be a breeze. I think Siyeon will have the hardest time this week… Her and Nayoung don’t seem like they’d get along, and Nayoung is known for being really harsh… Nonetheless, I think I'm excited about being under her wing for a week. After all, she’s the number one hero. I feel like I have a lot to learn from her._

**_Yeah, right. This is gonna suck ass._ **

Sungyeon jumped at the loud voice intruding her thoughts. Her gaze immediately shot to Siyeon, who was staring directly at her, her usual eyes having turned completely black.

_You fucking asshole, how long have you been listening to my thoughts? She thought in as angrily of a tone as she could manage in her head, trying her hardest to maintain a poker face on the outside._

**_Ever since we were in the elevator. Didn’t you notice?_ **

_If I had, I would’ve said something before now. Idiot._

Siyeon visibly smiled and averted her eyes, although Sungyeon could still tell the younger girl was attached to her thoughts. The oh-so-familiar tingling at the back of her neck told her so. Any anger that had fizzled earlier came back in full swing, and she had to clench her fists under the table. _Sometimes I fucking hate your power._

**_You and everyone else, bud. Anyways, continue what you were thinking about Nayoung. What is it that makes her so appealing to you? Aside from her being the number one hero, that is. She seems like a goddamn loser to me._ **

Sungyeon rolled her eyes, sitting back in her seat and sighing.

“Something the matter, Salem?”

Minkyung was standing right beside her, brow quirked. Sungyeon stilled and flushed, embarrassed at being caught.

“No, ma’am. Sorry.”

When she looked back over to Siyeon, the fuzzy feeling that accompanied the attachment of Siyeon’s thoughts to hers disappeared. “That was my bad, Kumo,” she said to Minkyung, smiling like an idiot. “I was just bugging her.”

Minkyung looked nothing short of exasperated and shook her head. “I don’t think I’ll ever get used to just being an open book to you, kid.”

“You never do,” Kyla says from beside Raina, “It scares me every time.”

“Hey! I don’t do it that often! I respect people’s privacy.” Siyeon protests, getting up and putting her hands on her hips.

“You better,” Minkyung said with a warning tone, “I know you have a good grasp on your power already but I don’t want you just attaching yourself to other people’s brains for fun. This is a serious job, X.”

“Yeah, yeah. I know.” Sungyeon watched her friend deflate and turned to her superiors.

“Should I head to Kahi’s office right away, then?” her question was thrown to the whole room, but it was Nayoung she locked eyes with.

The hero pocketed her phone and stood up, struggling a little as she removed herself from the bean bag. “Yeah, you might as well. We should get going on patrol and such, too.”

“Yes, we should.” Minkyung agreed. “Obsidian, you and I are to go downtown to patrol.” She ordered. Kyla looked a lot more pale than she was a few seconds ago, and Sungyeon made a mental note to ask the younger girl later about how working with the second-most intimidating hero is.

Everyone stood around, chatting and watching as the new pair grabbed their gear and left.

As soon as they were out the door, Yewon seemed to have a sudden realization.

“Wait, what was Raina here for?”

“Ouch.” Raina commented with a small grin.

“Oh yeah.” Kyungwon, who had moved back to laying on the table, shot up. “You can only go to Raina for healing and medicine for the rest of the month.”

“What about Goeun?” Sungyeon’s voice came out a bit louder than she had meant, and her ears burnt at the way her voice echoed in the small room. “I mean… why only one out of the two doctors?”

“Goeun is going to be working alongside Kahi, Gowon, and Haseul for the next few months researching a private matter.” Nayoung says almost immediately.

Sungyeon frowned. Goeun, doing research? “Why would she be researching and not Rai-”

“If I was able to disclose that kind of information to you, I would” Nayoung looked a little stressed out as she threw on her jacket. “It’s none of your business anyway. Let’s get going, Siyeon.” she said with an assertive tone of voice that made Sungyeon shiver. The pro hero quirked an eyebrow at Siyeon, who looked less than enthused but moved to the door nonetheless.

Kyungwon looked ready to leave as well, one of her many trademark leather jackets thrown on one shoulder. “Yewon, you and I are gonna train for today.” she said, grinning. “I know the perfect place for using your power.”

As Sungyeon was observing her friends and colleagues leave, she felt a tap on her shoulder.

“I’ll drop you off at Kahi’s office if you want.” Raina said, the usual twinkle in her eyes captivating Sungyeon momentarily.

“Are you sure? I don’t think I’ll get lost.” Sungyeon says dryly, stretching slightly as the other hero moved to turn off the lights of the conference room.

“I have something to discuss with her, so I’ll be heading there anyway.” the woman comments.

The elevator ride up to the office was quiet. Sungyeon was thankful for Raina’s decision to not try and make awkward conversation, because it was in the silence when her mind ran wild. Being a hybrid meant she had scattered and more animalistic thoughts every now and then, so being able to separate that and her own proper thoughts had always been a struggle for her.

_I hate that they hide all this shit from us. Just because we’re new heroes doesn’t mean we shouldn’t get to know what’s going on within the agency. Aside from the YG incident, I’d say we’ve been pretty helpful. Hell, Yewon saved an entire elementary school last month from a fire. On her own!_

Okay, maybe thinking things through didn’t help in this case. Sungyeon felt her blood boil even more, which wasn’t calming her down as they stepped out of the elevator and into the main room on the twelfth floor of the agency.

Kahi was standing at the water cooler right outside her door, talking to another girl that Sungyeon instantly recognized.

Before she could say anything, however, Kahi had noticed the two of them approach. “Hello girls, perfect timing. I was just about to send Gowon here to fetch you two.” she smiled briefly down at the girl beside her, who looked slightly stressed out at the sudden influx of people. Sungyeon quickly sobers up at the expression on the younger girl and forces herself to be calm so as to not spook the poor employee.

“Hope your morning has been alright, Kahi.” Raina greets, taking a step forward in front of Sungyeon and making the latter feel like she’s a child at a meeting for adults. “If it’s alright, I’d like to have a word with you before you take Salem in for the day.”

Kahi and Sungyeon briefly meet eyes, and Sungyeon is suddenly reminded how harshly she acted out towards her boss just a few days before. Her ears started to burn and she ducked her head down a little, her wings sagging in embarrassment.

“I figured you would say that, Raina. That’s why I asked Gowon to drop by, actually. The two of you can talk about the whole ordeal while I start the day off with Sungyeon. I don’t, after all, want her to miss any valuable training time.” the twinkle in the woman’s eyes was seemingly wistful, but Sungyeon only felt dread pit itself in her stomach.

Raina let out a small noise. “You’re always one step ahead of me,” she said, laughing a little. Sungyeon resisted rolling her eyes, because _of course Kahi would be, dumbass._ “Did you have any ideas come up over the weekend as well, Gowon?”

Gowon’s eyes seemed to light up, and a small smile crossed her face as she followed Raina to one of the small tables in the room, instantly beginning to chatter away. Sungyeon pried her eyes from watching the pair and looked right into Kahi’s eyes.

A shudder made its way down Sungyeon’s spine.

Those dark, bottomless eyes have been known to cause nightmares in even the toughest of villains. Many people respected and idolized the boss of OSR for what she had done for the country in the past, yet no one outside of the agency has seen her face in over twenty years.

Sungyeon thought of it as both a privilege and a curse. Not everyone can feel the wonder that is seeing someone judge their actions and choices and pick them apart until they’re nothing but a skeleton, but in OSR, being around Kahi’s analytic power is something heroes and employees alike have to get used to.

She didn’t even realize she was staring into her boss’ eyes until Kahi leaned back and clapped once. “Alright, now that you’re here, the real fun begins.” she said, a small smile forming on her face.

Sungyeon wasn’t sure what Kahi had seen, which made her even more unsettled. _It’s not like I would hide anything from her, but that certainly diminishes any hope of doing so. At least she can’t hear my thoughts as Siyeon can._

Kahi turned around and wandered into her office, Sungyeon following closely behind. The scent of pine and something sweet instantly hit her nostrils, and she felt her talons flex as she peered out the vast window that overlooked a good portion of the city. _Time for a fly after work, I think. Focus, Sungyeon._

“Take a seat.” Kahi more or less ordered, but it wasn’t as if Sungyeon was going to disobey.

Kahi’s office was wonderful, with plants stretching over one wall and an aquarium nestled into the corner. The chairs were soft and cushioned Sungyeon’s wings perfectly, not hurting or bending any of the bones as her _actual_ office chair did. Soft classical music played from somewhere overhead, and Sungyeon briefly wondered how OSR managed to even get the budget for a room as pretty as this, but quickly brushed it off.

“You may think this is going to be a breeze,” her boss started once seated on the other side of the desk, hands folded across the table, “But I plan on working you to the bone in here. The paperwork part of being a hero is very taxing and stressful, and it’s only when you become a pro hero that you are faced with these duties. Take this week as a bonus lesson from your trainee days and allow yourself to learn something that hasn’t necessarily been taught before.”

Sungyeon raised an eyebrow and leaned forward, cocking a grin. “Alright, game on.”

How bad can it be?


	3. Chapter 1 - Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frostbite - Zhou Jieqiong
> 
> Torture mention :)

“I thought I told you to stop doing that, Jieqiong.”

Jieqiong couldn’t help the grin on her face as she watched Hyunjin and Yerim grow increasingly angry at her. Three bodies of complete strangers lay along the walls, their limbs torn off and blue.

“Stop doing what?” she asked cooly, resisting the sneeze that came with using her power. Her eyeballs tickled for a second.

“Stealing our kills.” Hyunjin looked equally as upset as Yerim, putting her hands on her hips. “I think it should be a crime that you’re taking advantage of Yerim’s eyesight.”

“Or lack of,” Yerim commented, her bitter tone evident as she squinted in Jieqiong’s general area. She wasn’t sure why the girl was even trying - especially in their current location. The alleyway was incredibly dark, and even the frost villain was having a hard time seeing properly.

“It’s not my fault you’re blind. And stop calling me by my name when I don’t have my mask up.” She shot at the younger girls and began to wander away, soaking in the darkness and ignoring the gross noises her bloodied shoes made on the concrete. The sense of peace that came after a kill was being interrupted by the two dumbasses, and she felt like it was probably karma from all her executions that she had to deal with them.

“Jieqiong!” Yerim let out a whine, and the girl in question paused momentarily for the two girls to catch up. “How many times do I have to tell you? Today was my first day out of the house in five-“

“-In five months. At that time, you weren’t allowed to kill anyone, and when I use my power on someone it just destroys their cells and makes it impossible for you to properly drink their blood, which means I should let you have at least one kill before the day is up. I know.” Jieqiong cut in coldly, stopping her slow pace when she reached the end of the alley.

“You know, the more times you say it, the less I want to cooperate.”

She tuned the girls out as they continued to speak and focused on the street in front of her. Downtown Seoul in the middle of the week was disgustingly busy, but all it did was make her job easier. She evaporated any extra ice on her fingers and straightened her spine, reaching up to hook her mask back around her face.

“Are you done?” she asked the girls, unknowingly cutting one of them off in the middle of a sentence. “I’m going to leave now.” She kept her tone neutral as she looked back at them, resisting the urge to smirk when she saw the expressions the girls made.

“Wh…” Yerim looked less than pleased, but Jieqiong wasn’t about to comment on it. “Like… _leaving_ -leaving? You’re going back to HQ?”

Jieqiong stepped out into the sidewalk with the others at her side, not bothering to step aside for any civilians trying to maneuver their way through the busy pavement. “No, dumbass. Didn’t you say you wanted to go for coffee?”

“Well, yeah, but-”

“Well, yeah, _what?_ Come on.”

Without much hesitation, she slipped into the crowd. Yerim and Hyunjin slowly followed behind, and when Jieqiong glanced over her shoulder her gaze focused on their tightly interlocked hands. A small smile tugged at her lips before she focused on the path again.

Although she tried to attack different streets each week, Jieqiong noticed her feet had led her to a more familiar road. It was one that usually resulted in a caffeine fix, but she inwardly sighed and turned the opposite direction. The cafe they frequented had been uprooted months prior by one of Pledis’ wonderful mafioso, so the girls were forced to try and find another quiet place to relax.

It didn’t take long to spot a small sign outside a rustic-looking building, advertising the day’s special drinks along with a stupid coffee pun that Jieqiong didn’t even bother looking at. A once-over is all it took before deciding that was their new spot. For now, at least. The old cafe was too good to just give up. Maybe her boss would consider anonymously funding the owner so they can rebuild.

She was about to put a hand on the doorknob when she realized she was forgetting something. “Before we go in,” she said, her voice raised a little for the others to hear over the chatter of the streets, “Three, can you and One wait in that alley for me?”

Hyunjin looked less than pleased but obliged, quietly grabbing her sister's upper arm and more or less dragging her into yet another dark alleyway. Jieqiong paused briefly to watch them and then stepped back into the crowd of people, her eyes darting around as she searched for something specific. Or rather, someone.

A flash of black passed her vision and she darted out, grabbing the subject by the arm and tugging them with her. She had grabbed a young boy, maybe about the age of sixteen, who had been walking with his group of friends. His yelp of shock was swallowed by the loud chatter around them, and it wasn’t until he was thrown into the alley that he started _really_ shouting.

“Wha- hey! What are you doing? Let go of me, lady!”

“Shut up and this will be over before you know it.” Jieqiong grunted, wrapping her free hand around his neck and squeezing tightly. The action immediately shut him up, but the noises had already alerted the two waiting girls before them.

“Is that…” Yerim pulled down her mask and sniffed, “ _Fear_ I smell?” The girl was starting to vibrate with excitement, drool slipping down her chin when she licked her lips.

“Yeah.” Jieqiong huffed and pushed hard at a pressure point on the back of the boy’s neck. He made a soft noise and quickly crumpled to the ground, unconscious. Hyunjin made a surprised noise as the ice villain put a foot on the boy’s back to keep him in place.

"Jieqiong!" Yerim said breathlessly, shaky hands reaching out and grabbing the air in search of the victim. "What made you change your mind?"

"Nothing did," she said flatly, giving the boy a disgusted look before harshly kicking him over to the blind woman. "I just didn't want to hear you complain anymore."

Yerim didn't reply and instead ripped off her mask fully and started to tear into the poor kid, waking him up as she did so. Her rows of sharp teeth glistened in the minimal light as her hands latched onto him and exposed his neck, immediately diving in.

If vampires existed Jieqiong was sure Yerim would surpass their level of blood lust. Although the girl didn’t need to live off of the substance, it seemed she had developed an addiction in the few years she was under Pledis. Jieqiong couldn’t blame her - if she was able to suck all the power out of people like Yerim could, she wholly believes she would act the same.

She’d never admit that out loud, though.

The first few seconds were relatively quiet while the kid was still knocked out. The sucking sound and the rancid smell that came with the draining nearly made Jieqiong sick regardless of how many times she encountered it.

Streams of thick blood came gushing out of the neck wound, flowing right into the girl’s mouth and onto the pavement. The colour in the victim’s face turned pale within moments, and the skin around his neck tightened with the sheer force of Yerim inhaling.

The boy’s screams of pain and desperation quickly died down to whimpers, and in a mere few minutes, there was nothing left but a shell of skin in replace of a once-alive human.

When Yerim finally let go of the body, she was panting hard. Blood streaked her chin and her hands were stained red.

Hyunjin let out another sigh and reached into her pocket, bringing out a pack of wet wipes. Yerim wiped her hands and face quietly.

Jieqiong watched in mild disinterest, growing impatient. “Are you ready to join the living again?”

“Yeah.” Yerim was still trembling but her pent up energy seemed to have left her. “Thank you, Jie. That was great.”

“Did you get any powers from him?” Hyunjin asked, speaking for the first time in a while.

The girl paused, stretching her fingers and legs as she stood. “No, I don’t think so.”

“Damn.” Jieqiong said sarcastically.

“It’s fine,” Yerim was still trying to catch her breath and shook her head, “It wouldn’t matter, anyway. I don’t need extra power at the moment.”

When the girl completely calmed down and was able to stand, the three of them headed inside the cafe. Jieqiong immediately went to the front counter to order while the sisters found a booth in a dark corner.

Jieqiong was extra conscious of her mask as it shifted when she ordered. The constant paranoia of being found out in public never goes away, but she always reminds herself that it doesn’t help that she only wears a medical mask for hiding.

It was at times like these that she was envious of the triplets, whose faces were kept a secret to the public and thus didn’t need to wear masks to hide them, only doing so to not make Jieqiong stand out.

She settles down at the booth when the orders are ready, a tray with three drinks in hand. Black coffee for Yerim, hot chocolate for Hyunjin, and coffee with lots of sugar and milk for Jieqiong. _Perfect._

Coffee was one of the few things in life she cherished. The rush she got from drinking it was akin to the rush Yerim probably felt when she drained a human. She held the mug close to her body and smiled under her mask, letting the warmth drift over her icy face.

There was a small time frame in which no one spoke. Yerim and Hyunjin sipped their drinks quietly while Jieqiong stared down at the liquid, listening to the soft lo-fi beats playing from an overhead speaker.

“How’s the coffee, Jie?” Hyunjin asked quietly. Jieqiong hummed, watching as the fingers wrapped around the cup formed a layer of ice.

“It seems fine. Doesn’t smell as good as the other cafe’s coffee, though...” she mumbled more to herself than the others. She watched the ice swirl slowly, getting lost in her thoughts about the old cafe and how kind the owner was. People who make drinks as delicious as coffee make her feel bad about her current occupation and what it entails, but it can’t be helped.

“I don’t really remember the other cafe’s coffee, to be honest,” Yerim admits, sounding less apologetic and more desperate for conversation. “Did you get your usual order there, or…?”

Her mood was instantly ruined. Why do they always feel the need to destroy her minimal moments of peace?

“Of course I did.” Jieqiong didn’t break her gaze and watched as the ice fully dissolved. She tapped a finger against the mug and let more crystals shoot in, careful to not disrupt anything but the cup. “Why is that even a question?”

“We’re trying to make small talk, Jieqiong.”

The sheer boredom of accompanying the two girls along with the consistent paranoia of being discovered in public was starting to wear on her nerves, and she could feel her patience running thin. “Well. You’re doing a bad job at it.” she bit back.

From her peripheral vision, she could see Hyunjin’s shoulders slack. Yerim remained stiff.

“Are you serious? I don’t think you have room to comment on my social skills when you hardly talk outside of the executive group.” Hyunjin sounded like she was starting to get genuinely annoyed, but Jieqiong couldn’t bring herself to care.

“I’ve never felt the need for something as tedious as small talk,” she replied, now glaring at the cup. “Not when I have no plans on using such people for my benefit. Which reminds me, Yerim,” the girl in question tilted her head slightly at the mention of her name, “You owe me.”

“Wh… for what?”

“The draining,” Jieqiong finally pulled her mask down and brought the cup to her lips and took a small sip, eyes locked on Yerim’s cloudy ones. The coffee was too _cold_ now. Shit.

“I did you a favour. Now you owe me,” she said once the cup was lowered, voice flat. She pulled her mask back up, lips curling in disgust at the cold beverage.

Hyunjin looked like she was about to burst but Yerim put a hand over the girl’s mouth, silencing her immediately.

“How does dragging a human into an alley count as a favour? Anyone could’ve done that.”

“Exactly.” Jieqiong wasn’t sure why they weren’t getting the point. “But _I_ did it for you, which is why it was such an outstanding action of mine, thus deserving a reward.”

Hyunjin let out a loud breath and pressed her fingers to her forehead. Jieqiong watched her nails cut in and leave white marks.

“With all due respect, I don’t think you being a decent human being means you get something in return. A part of friendship is just doing nice things for each other and not expecting anything in return.” the girl finished her small speech and reached over, taking a long gulp of Yerim’s coffee.

Jieqiong sneered. “Who said we were friends?” was all she said, grip on her own cup tightening from anger. “The only reason why I’m out of HQ with you two is ‘cause I was bored and wanted to kill. You’re just lucky Boss decided to let you out, especially you, Yerim.”

Yerim narrowed her eyes, gaze lost but still somehow focused on the person in front of her.

“If we aren’t friends, we’re at least colleagues. Colleagues who are on the _same_ level as you. It shouldn’t be this hard to be a kind person, Jieqiong.” the blind girl snipped.

Jieqiong leaned forward, hands dropping the grip the edge of the table. “Honey, in our profession we don’t _get_ to be kind.” she lowered her voice a little, nose flared and teeth grit. “Maybe Boss was wrong about you three. You’re all just as soft as you were when we picked you off the goddamn street.”

Even though her brain told her to stop, she kept going. “If you want me to be honest, I don’t think you deserve being an executive. Being elected was his poor excuse of trying to let more people do his dirty work, and you were just the fucking idiots that fell into his hands at the right time.”

A smirk found its way onto her face. “Maybe you need to go back to being a mafioso. I think you missed a couple _key elements_ of being an executive.”

Both girls tensed up at the mention of even possibly going back to being the _lowest of the low_ in Pledis, and Jieqiong felt a strong sense of satisfaction at succeeding in getting them to shut up.

The satisfaction only lasted a few moments, however, because Hyunjin decided it was time to annoy her further.

“Jieqiong. Listen to me,” It wasn’t a suggestion, it was a _demand_. Jieqiong rolled her eyes and pointedly looked at Hyunjin, barely holding back a start at the girl’s expression. The intensity of her stare resembled the one she had seen in the past when the triplets were about to go into an interrogation. She meant _business_ , and for a brief moment, Jieqiong was unsure as to what specific thing she said resulted in this kind of anger.

“I know it’s easy to settle into the routine of being in charge of everything, but Yerim and I have been in this position of power for over five months now. We’re equals. We’ve proved ourselves time and time again to you, Yaebin, Eunwoo, _and_ Boss. It shouldn’t be this hard to get used to us working _alongside_ you and not _for_ you.” Hyunjin looked like she was ready to jump over the table and attack Jieqiong. It brought comfort to the latter that they were still in the middle of a cafe and not back in the dirty alley, although she knew without a doubt she could defeat both of them in a fight regardless.

Jieqiong quietly took a few deep breaths to calm herself down. _Why would you think about attacking them in the first place? They’re your colleagues, Yerim said it herself._

“Relax, sis.” Yerim cocked a fake smile as she raised her cup to her mouth, slightly missing and causing some liquid to seep down her chin. “I think she’s just used to only having her and her girlfriends in charge. It must still be quite a shock, right?”

“Stop.” Jieqiong let out a heavy sigh as she watched the bat mutant wipe aggressively at her face. “We aren’t girlfriends.”

“You didn’t answer my question.” Yerim was still trying to wipe at herself to rid of the coffee, and Hyunjin had to come to the rescue and help. Jieqiong quirked an eyebrow at the odd interaction and felt some of her annoyance start to subside. “And _yes_ you are girlfriends. I’m sorry, but it’s true. There’s no way you three can be that… uh… close to each other and not be dating.” she coughed slightly. Jieqiong felt her ears turn pink at whatever the hell the girl could be thinking of, and any previous thoughts of attacking or angering the girls further were forgotten.

“Our line of work doesn’t let us have the luxuries of dating,” she replied quickly, suddenly feeling bare and exposed at talking to her _colleagues_ of all people about the two most dear to her heart. “Besides, that shouldn’t be any of your business.”

“Well… It is if we live on the floor above you,” Hyunjin cut in, smiling as well. “I swear, sometimes we think you guys are married with how much the three of you argue about stupid shit.”

Jieqiong's embarrassment was quickly replaced with annoyance once more. “Don’t fucking _listen in_ on our conversations, then.” she felt the cup in her hand start to go cold and forced herself to take a deep breath. “If the only reason you wanted to come with me on this trip was to make me question my interpersonal relationships, you succeeded.” she leaned back to grumble to herself, crossing her arms and giving one of her best glares.

“I can feel you try to glare at me and it won’t work.” Yerim sassed. “We _did_ have a reason for requesting to come with you, though.”

Jieqiong leaned back, feeling a rare spark of humour hit her. “Ah, yes. The draining. I’m sorry, I already forgot. I trained my brain to not remember useless shit like th-”

“No! That’s not what I meant! I would’ve said so if it was!” Yerim groaned loudly and threw her hands in the air. “Jieqiong, if we are going to be friends, you need to start using your brain a little more.”

 _Wha…_ “I _do_ use my brain, dumbass.” Jieqiong took a sip of her drink before quickly putting it back down, forgetting how fucking cold it was. “I _also_ never gave you permission to try and befriend me.”

Yerim’s usual cheerful self had come back full swing in under a minute flat, clapping her hands and grinning like an idiot. “Too bad! Now I’ve made it my life quest to befriend you, Jie! We’re going to become the best of friends!” she reached out and attempted to grab ahold of one of Jieqiong’s arms, much to the latter’s distaste. “Our first task on the itinerary is going to be picking up when we drop hints that we need to talk to you about something serious!”

She wasn’t sure how to react. “O...kay?”

“Stop, Yerim. Obviously that isn’t working.” Hyunjin let out a sigh, glancing around briefly before speaking again. "We wanted to talk to one of you about Boss before he locked us up again.”

 _That_ got her attention. Jieqiong raised an eyebrow but still tried to play it off. “You’re quitting? I knew this day would come.” she said, smiling under her mask.

“No.” Hyunjin shut her down immediately. “Hyejoo has been hearing some... things. She was listening in to one of the meetings with the other mafia bosses-”

“I thought we told her to _stop doing that-_ ”

“-And she heard a few of the others mention planning a really big attack. She wasn’t sure on who, though.” Hyunjin finished.

That was news to her.

“Oh?” Jieqiong tilted her head, “That’s interesting. Are you sure Boss wasn’t just spitting meaningless plans to skewer the other mobs?”

Yerim and Hyunjin both shook their heads. “I don’t think so,” Hyunjin said, “A week or so ago one of the main mobs was nearly attacked, and it pissed Boss off enough to want to do something about it.” Hyunjin kept looking around the room, eyes scanning the different customers. “We think he’s pretty invested in helping out.”

Jieqiong hummed, furrowing her brows. Had Eunwoo heard of this? She _was_ , after all, the brains behind a lot of Pledis’ raids. “He hasn’t mentioned anything to me, so obviously the plan isn’t that well-developed.”

Yerim suddenly looked uneasy. “I don’t know, Jie. From what Hyejoo said, he seemed pretty sure of himself. Maybe he’ll mention it to us later this week.”

A sigh left her lips. Their inexperience with Han Sungsoo’s indecisiveness was obvious, but she wasn’t about to say that just yet. Not if she was expecting to be _friends_ with them. “Yeah, maybe.”

Hyunjin opened her mouth to say something else, but stopped. She silently pulled her burner phone out of her pocket, flipping it open and answering at the speed of light.

“Yeah?.....Got it. We’ll be there in five minutes.” Hyunjin’s face contorted from one of peacefulness to her usual business face, and Yerim seemed to get the gist of the call as well judging from her expression change. Jieqiong silently watched as the girl ended the phone call and jumped out of the booth, pulling her sister by the arm with her.

“Well, sounds like we have to go back to HQ. We’ll see you back there.” she said, seeming to ignore the way her sister was starting to complain about not finishing her drink. “Thanks for taking us out, Jieqiong. We still don’t owe you anything, though.”

With that, the girl lifted Yerim on her back piggyback-style and jogged out of the small cafe. Jieqiong couldn’t help but scoff at the absolute abruptness of the departure and observed the older girl use her power in broad daylight to extend her legs, towering over the nearby buildings and shooting out from her line of sight in mere seconds.

She waited a few moments before relaxing back into the seat, relishing in the quiet atmosphere and not worrying about anyone interrupting it.

Hyunjin’s last sentence before she left came to mind. Jieqiong clicked her tongue. _It’s unfortunate they don’t realize how much they owe me in actuality. I’ll let this one slide, I guess._

An all-too-familiar buzz in her pocket stopped her thoughts before they could even start. She glared at the ceiling before grabbing her own burner phone, not bothering to look for the number before she answered it.

“What?”

“Hey, Jie.” came a voice she instantly recognized. “Someone from the cell escaped and fled after trying to attack Hitomi. Can you track him down and take care of him for us? He’s probably wearing his jumpsuit.”

“Yaeb,” she greeted, processing the information as she spoke, “Why didn’t you call me on my actual phone?”

“I thought it’d be cool to try this way,” Yaebin admits from the other side. “Plus I wasn’t sure if you left your actual phone at home or not. This guy can’t be out for too long; Boss is concerned he’ll run right to OSR.”

Jieqiong stood up and readjusted her mask. “What direction was he headed in?”

“Uhh… West, I think. Nearby the cafe we used to go to.” there was some shuffling from Yaebin’s end and a distant voice was barely heard. “Wonyoung said she sent Daesung and Wonho out to find the escapee with you.”

Jieqiong immediately made her way outside the cafe, squinting as she tried to look through the many faces for two familiar ones. “...Okay.” she said slowly, moving to the alley. Someone stood there against the wall, near the body Yerim had demolished.

“I’ll head back once I’m done.”

“Alright. See you then.”

“Bye.”

Jieqiong pocketed the phone and approached the figure. In the dark alley, she could barely make out the features, but the familiar bracelet on his wrist was a tell-all. She, of course, had a similar one on her ankle.

“Wonho.”

“Frostbite.” the mafioso greeted with a nod. “I saw the escapee on my way here. He isn’t far from the c-”

“The cafe I used to go to. I know.” Jieqiong couldn’t help but be bitter again at the loss. “Where’s Daesung?”

“He didn’t respond to the call, so only I came.” Wonho replied stiffly, bowing a little. “I apologize for the inconvenience.”

“It’s fine, let’s just get this over with.” Jieqiong snipped, heading deeper into the alley this time and sticking close to the walls, pulling down her mask. Wonho followed closely behind.

“You know, you drink coffee really slowly.” Wonho commented from behind her.

A chill ran down Jieqiong’s spine. “Creep. How long were you watching me before they called?”

“A while.” was all he responded with at first, then “One and Three are quite bitter people.”

Jieqiong realized quietly that the mafioso must’ve heard in on her conversation, and a thought crossed her mind as to why Yerim and Hyunjin were called back to Pledis so urgently, but she ignored it and quickly focused back on the task.

“Uh-huh.” she said, tone neutral. She opted for not speaking the rest of the way.


	4. Chapter 1 - Part 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gravestone - Lim Nayoung
> 
> Gore and fighting tw!

Friday afternoons always seemed to drag on when patrolling.

Especially with a young hero in tow. 

The weekend was close yet  _ so far _ , and Nayoung couldn’t help but longingly think of the full bottle of spiced rum chilling in her fridge at the moment. She hadn’t let herself have a single sip of alcohol over the first week of supervising the new heroes, and the lack of the substance was starting to make her irritable. 

The hero rubbed her temples aggressively as she led the way down a busy street in downtown Seoul. 

“Can we please sit down for a second?” came a voice from behind her, pulling her out of her thoughts. Nayoung turned and was mildly surprised to see Siyeon lagging behind, getting pushed around by rushing civilians. “I mean, we’ve been doing this all morning.”

Nayoung’s reply was instant. “No. We still have quite a lot of ground to cover.” she snipped, pushing herself to walk just a little faster to spite the girl. “Pick up your knees, you’re starting to lag behind.”

“Na- Gravestone,  _ please _ .” Siyeon groaned. “My legs are still hurting from yesterday. They feel like they’re going to fall off.” the girl whined. 

The dull throb of a headache was starting to set in.

“That’s what you get for only focusing on strengthening your mind, dumbass. You need to be physically strong, too.” she replied, her long legs weaving herself through the cluster of people.

There was no response, and Nayoung waited a few more steps before she sighed and turned around. 

The younger hero sat on the sidewalk a few metres back, eyes locked on Nayoung’s retreating form, with a large pout on her face. Nayoung couldn’t help the snort that came out as she watched strangers trip on her extended legs, cursing the girl out for being inconsiderate. 

“You can’t put me through a literal  _ bootcamp  _ and expect me to not be sore the next few days.” Siyeon grumbled once Nayoung approached her and was within earshot. The girl threw herself back onto the pavement, fully starfishing amidst the crowd. “I think I threw my back out after the thirtieth push-up you made me do, yet you pushed me to do… how many was it?”

“Forty. I made you do forty push-ups.” Nayoung raised an eyebrow, “Didn’t you have to pass a physical test to become a hero?”

Siyeon let out another groan, sitting up to smooth out the large blue ‘X’ on her uniform. “Yeah, but that was different.”

“How so?” Nayoung frowned at herself before adding, “Nevermind, I don’t actually care. Get up, we need to get this done before sundown.”

“But-”

Before the meaningless conversation could carry on, a new voice interrupted from among the crowd.

“Woah! It’s Gravestone!”

Nayoung immediately straightened her back and looked in the direction the voice came from. A kid, thirteen at the most, stood behind Siyeon with what appeared to be her parents. Her round cheeks were flushed pink with glee, and a big smile was stretched on her face.

Siyeon seemed to also hear the noise and jolted up to her feet, quickly moving to stand beside Nayoung. 

“I love you so much!” the tiny girl gushed, and it was then that Nayoung noticed she had a shirt with a cartoon picture of the Big Three on the front. “I mean… I just really like your power! I think you’re super cool!”

“Hello,” Nayoung greeted, her face relaxing enough to smile back. She squatted a little so she was closer to the girl’s eye level, giving a quick smile to the girl’s nonchalant parents. “I’m so grateful to hear that. What’s your name?”

“Gahyeon!” The girl squeaked out, her eyes glistening with joy. She began to talk more, her words stumbling over one another with her sheer excitement. “I have the same p- I mean… I have a really similar power! To you, I mean! Look!” 

Gahyeon stepped back a little from Nayoung and squinted her eyes shut. In a few seconds, small particles of dirt rose from the sidewalk and collected in her small outstretched hand. 

The girl looked awfully pleased with herself and dropped the pile, clapping happily. Nayoung watched on in mild amusement as the child continued. “My parents call my power really icky because I touch dirt… but you’re really cool and powerful and you do the same thing! Kinda.” 

Gahyeon stepped closer to Nayoung, clenching her fists in excitement.

“One day, I want to be as cool of a hero as you!” 

A bitter taste settled at the back of her throat by looking into the innocent kid’s eyes. 

Nayoung wanted to mention to the girl how life-destroying hero work can be, and how the risks outweigh the rewards by a long run. She wanted to tell her how many times she’s watched the light leave a child’s eyes, how the fact she will never be able to save  _ everyone  _ makes her lay awake hating herself for even thinking she could try and be a good person for once in her life. Accepting the job as a hero was what made drinking until the point of hospitalization every night more and more appealing. 

She couldn’t, however, say any of this to a girl who looked up to her so much. So, like every other day, she forced out a strained smile. 

“I believe in you, Gahyeon.” was all she could manage out, reaching to pat the child on the head. “Your power is already so strong, I can tell you’ll make a good hero one day. The rest of the Big Three and I will be cheering you on.”

_ Liar,  _ she spat to herself. 

Gahyeon giggled before suddenly gasping and reaching into her back pocket. She withdrew a felt marker. 

“Gravestone, can you… can you sign my shirt?” she asked, suddenly seeming a little shy compared to a few moments prior. Nayoung forced through a chuckle and took the marker, signing the girl’s back with a few encouraging words. The girl spun back around, grinning.

Nayoung quickly exchanged parting words with the child, adding a nod to the parents who still looked like they had wanted anything else but to be stopped in the middle of the busy sidewalk. The girl and her family disappeared into the crowd as quickly as they had appeared, and Nayoung was alone again. 

“She didn’t ask for  _ my  _ autograph.”

_ Fuck. I already forgot about Siyeon. _

Nayoung looked over her shoulder slightly to look at the disheartened hero.

“You didn’t even greet the kid,” she piped back, turning to fully look at the girl. “I have no sympathy for you if you didn’t even try.” 

“ _ You _ didn’t try, she just called you out of the blue.” Siyeon let out a sigh, “Man, fuckin’ kids must just hate learning the names and faces of the new heroes. That wasn’t the first time that’s happened.”

Nayoung rolled her eyes and began to walk forward again, grabbing the girl’s wrist before tugging her along. “Stop complaining. That just means you need to work harder.” 

“But I’ve already worked so hard, I feel like I’ve reached my breaking point.” Siyeon was downright whining now, and Nayoung was growing very close to snapping. “What else do I need to do, cut off my arm?”

They paused at another stop light. “Kid, I’m not here to be your counsellor.” Nayoung rolled her eyes and tapped her foot impatiently as she watched the cars zoom by. “Either suck it up or quit.”

Siyeon grumbled and chose to not speak any coherent words for the next hour. 

The rest of the shift went relatively well, with fans coming up to greet Gravestone every few streets. It was only within the final twenty minutes that the two spotted anything out of the ordinary on patrol. 

Nayoung peeked into the alleyway of one of her last assigned streets and spotted a few men. Their backs were turned to her, but her eyes still shot to the glittering bands on their wrists, which shone even within the darkness of the alley. Siyeon must have seen them as well, for she stopped walking and stared down the path instead. 

“Are those...?”

“Probably,” Nayoung squinted a little in their direction but kept walking, albeit quite slowly. “Come on..”

Siyeon was still standing there, shifting into an awkward fighting stance. Nayoung stopped walking and watched, frowning.

“They’re from YG.” Siyeon growled lowly, “Their bracelets are the same as the ones Bada’s kidnappers had.” 

It was worth mentioning to Siyeon that  _ all  _ of the groups under Pledis were required to wear the jewellery for identification, but Nayoung couldn’t bring forth enough energy to speak the words. 

“Don’t just pick a fight with them for fun,” Nayoung replied flatly, flicking her wrist to check her watch. “We have 15 minutes of patrol left, there’s no point.”

“Fuck that.” Siyeon whipped her head to give Nayoung a sharp look, “I’m gonna confront them. It’s now or never, right?”

With that, the younger girl stomped down the alley, leaving Nayoung to watch with a dulled expression. When the pro hero processed that her assigned sidekick had essentially run off to cause trouble on purpose, she bolted into action.

“X, listen to me--”

Nayoung only got a few strides into the alley before she stopped centimetres from Siyeon’s heels. The younger girl had made it halfway down the alley towards the men, but had abruptly stopped. 

They were within earshot of the mafioso, and it was when Nayoung took a quick breath in to speak that she heard what made Siyeon stop. The mafioso were talking in low registers, and it seemed they hadn’t been alerted of the heroes' presence yet.

“...Couldn’t have found a better subject, right? If her power was any stronger it would’ve been hard for us to keep her as sedated as she was.”

“At least we got her when she was already asleep. Any other time and I’m sure one of us would’ve been killed. Fucking bitch.”

“If she laid a finger on me I woulda made sure that blood-bending bitch could never see the light of day again.”

Nayoung shifted her gaze from the men having a seemingly common conversation to Siyeon, who had started to shake. Her fists were clenched at her sides, and Nayoung swore she could hear the girl’s teeth grind. 

“They’re talking about Bada,” she hissed. “They’re the ones who had kidnapped her, I know it.”

“Stop it. You don’t know that for sure.” Nayoung’s head pounded to the point where she had to close an eye from the pain. Interacting with ruffians was a daily chore, but this was simply one of the odd times where Nayoung felt justice wasn’t necessary. “Their backs are turned and you can’t even see their faces.”

Siyeon shot Nayoung a sharp glare. “Did you not hear what they just said?” her voice was nothing close to a whisper, bringing Nayoung a sense of dread. “Even if it  _ isn’t _ about Bada, no sane person should be saying those things.”

She felt like she was talking to a brick wall. “We have no proof of anything they said. They haven’t done anything wrong and you’re just overreacting.” 

“That’s right, kid.” came a deep voice, and Nayoung inwardly cursed at herself for dropping her guard long enough for one of the mafioso to sneak up in front of them, “The stone lady is correct. We haven’t done anything wrong.”

The man was as tall as Nayoung if not taller, with a menacing grin that was as blinding as the piercing stuck through the bridge of his nose. He wasn’t anyone Nayoung recognized, but that wasn’t necessarily a good thing. 

“I apologize for her,” Nayoung spoke, swiftly moving closer to her sidekick. “She’s new to the job. Still needs to learn how to keep things to herself, it seems.”

The alley was dark, and it was hard to tell how many people there were. Nayoung stiffened a little as more started to approach.

“Oh, that’s alright. We were once ignorant and rude, too.” another man said, his face hidden in the shadows of the alley. Nayoung frowned. 

“We used to be fucking terrible. We’re better now. No need to get on our tails for no goddamn reason,” another one said. It was then that they moved uncomfortably close with the other two mafioso and Nayoung realized how menacing they were. 

They were all heavily pierced and tattooed to the point of unrecognizability. It was a trademark only members of YG had, and Nayoung cursed inwardly for Siyeon more than likely being correct about the identification of Bada’s former kidnappers. 

“You’re making us look good, Taecyeon.” the closest man said, his eyes shifting to lock with Nayoung’s. His tone was friendly but his eyes said otherwise. “But I guess even the worst of the worst can redeem themselves eventually. Isn’t that right,  _ Gravestone _ ?” He spat, a sly smile etching onto his features. 

The air stilled. “What does he mean, Nayoung?” Siyeon asked slowly, and Nayoung saw the girl turn to her from her peripheral vision. 

Nayoung kept her face neutral but felt panic start to set in. “He’s just trying to get a rise out of me, X. Pay him no mind.” 

“But…”

The four men slowly spread themselves out, taking up the entire width of the alley. They towered over both girls although Nayoung tried her hardest to stand her ground, lifting her chin to stare them down. 

“It seems to me that your fellow hero here doesn’t know what you’ve done.” one of the men hissed, a forked tongue slipping in and out of his heavily pierced mouth. “That’s awfully dishonest of you.”

“Nayoung, what are they talking about?” Siyeon demanded with an angier tone of voice. 

Nayoung ignored her. “It doesn’t matter what happened in the past. This city has since moved on and I’ve apologized and worked hard to overcome my negative traits, as should you.”

“ _ Negative traits. _ That’s funny.” the snake man snapped, his face growing more and more contorted by the second. “Don’t fucking sugarcoat it. You’ve killed more people than I have,  _ hero _ . You don’t deserve to have that title.” 

“Wh… Nayoung?” Siyeon was full on ignoring the men now. “Are you sure you aren’t hiding anything from m-”

“I assure you, X, if there was anything worth noting about my abilities as a hero you would be notified.” Nayoung glared at the younger hero, locking eyes and silently hoping she would drop the topic and side with her. 

“That’s a fucking stupid response,” the girl said instead, much to Nayoung’s despair, “It obviously isn’t  _ that  _ bad if I haven’t heard of it, but you’re making it sound like you  _ killed  _ someone.”

Nayoung tensed, eyes slowly searching Siyeon’s. In rare moments like this, she wanted nothing more than to turn tail and run back home. 

The men started to laugh. “That’s hilarious, ‘cause that’s  _ exactly  _ what she did.” one of them snipped. “And you fuckers think she’s  _ heroic _ .”

“Hero, my ass!” another man chimed in. 

“Maybe you’ve lived under a rock for the past few years, so let me refresh your memory.” the man who Nayoung assumed was Taecyeon said. “Don’t you remember the mass murder in Times Square Mall a few years ago, kid?”

Siyeon’s mouth dropped open. “You’re kidding. Nayoung, that was  _ you? _ ”

_ For fuck’s sake, kid. _ Nayoung felt herself starting to tremble under the pressure. Her mind was going a mile a minute, trying to calm down before something happened. 

She took a few deep breaths, breaking eye contact with Siyeon before turning to the men. 

“I’d love to keep chatting with you all about this, but I’m afraid X and I have a few more blocks to cover before our shift is done,” Nayoung said lowly, hoping Siyeon got the hint they needed to leave. 

“Of course, of course. Duty calls, after all.” the snake man said, his intimidating demeanour dropping in a split second. “We’ll continue this conversation later.” 

Taecyeon snorted. “Have a good day,  _ heroes. _ ”

Nayoung said nothing and instead turned around, only glancing back to make sure Siyeon was following behind. The girl seemed angry, but she stayed quiet the entire walk back onto the sidewalk. 

As soon as they were around the corner and onto the now-nearly empty street, Nayoung let herself snap. She reached over to Siyeon and grabbed her bicep, squeezing as hard as she could. The girl yelped in surprise and tried to pry herself free, but Nayoung’s grip was stronger. 

“Listen to me. You do not, and I repeat, do  _ not _ argue with me in front of others.  _ Especially _ gang members affiliated with Pledis. I am your  _ superior  _ and you  _ will  _ listen to me.” she hissed, keeping her voice tone low. 

“As if I’m going to listen to you after _ that _ conversation!” Siyeon retorted, face flushed as she continued to struggle against the older girl’s grip. “They were talking about you murdering people! What kind of fucking hero  _ are  _ you?”

“What kind of hero am  _ I?  _ You’re one to talk,” Nayoung seethed, “ _ God _ , you’re so gullible. I could barely get a word in and you were believing them like you’d known them for more than the five minutes we were there. You didn’t think to wait for what  _ I _ had to say? You didn’t think- I- you-”

Nayoung’s previous attempts to calm herself down didn’t seem to be working. She let go of Siyeon’s arm quickly, pausing from speaking for a few seconds to calm down. Siyeon watched with wide eyes as the girl turned to the exterior of a building and stared at it for a second, breathing heavily. 

Nayoung felt like she was going to burst. Every ounce of her was tense and it was making her headache even worse. She took more deep breaths, hoping that, at the very least, there weren’t a lot of people watching her have this episode.

It was a few minutes later when she finally felt okay to remove her gaze from the wall. The disrespect from her colleague added onto her already stressed out brain was not working in her favour. 

She turned to face Siyeon, who was still staring at her with an expression Nayoung knew too well - a mixture of pity and fear. 

_ Ugh. _

“I have been working in the hero industry for years,” she started, speaking slowly to avoid another possible outburst, “So you must see why it is incredibly frustrating for someone who’s been in the field for less than 6 months come in and act like I don’t deserve to be where I am.”

“That’s not what I said--”

“I know, but that’s what you meant, right?” Nayoung took another deep breath. Her nerves were still shot, but she felt a little calmer. “What I’ve done in the past is over with. If society has forgotten about it and forgiven me, then I am willing to move on and forget about it myself.”

Siyeon was quiet, moving her gaze to the ground and shuffling from foot to foot. The look on her face made the older hero feel bad for being so harsh, but she tried to push it away.

Nayoung always hated this. Saying sorry for something that she had little to no control over. “Look. I’m not going to apologize for yelling at you because you should  _ not _ talk to me or any other of your seniors like you just did, but…” she sighed exasperatedly, “I’m not trying to pretend my…  _ incident  _ didn’t happen. It’s just something I would rather have put in the past and left there.” she ended, cursing at how her voice wavered. 

The younger girl squinted at her, expression unreadable. A few seconds went by until Siyeon finally nodded, more to herself than anything, and straightened her posture. 

“I mean, it’s not like I was there, but I heard it was really fucking terrible. You probably didn’t mean to do it, either, so…” the girl shrugged. “I guess I’ll forgive you.”

A snort left Nayoung before she could stop herself. “Thanks, Siyeon.” she said flatly, rolling her eyes. 

Siyeon flashed a smug smile. “You’re very welcome. Now,” Nayoung watched as she stretched and let out a large yawn. “If we’re done for the day then I guess we should get ready to go back to the agency. I promised Bada I would help her train tonight.”

Nayoung nodded, ready to turn around and go back the way they had come, but stopped. 

Something felt off.

Nayoung looked around to see if there was another soul on the road, but there was no one. Most of the shops around them were closed, lights turned off and blinds shut. She looked at the large clock outside one of the shops and found that it was around the time when their shift usually ended. A sense of uneasiness settled in her. They were in the middle of a busy commercial district, and it was around the time most people got off work…

So why was there no one else on the street?

“That’s cute.” came a deep voice. The girls turned to the sound and were immediately face to face with one of the mafia men from earlier. “You think we would actually let you go after that stunt you pulled?”

There were footsteps behind them. Nayoung quickly put two and two together and straightened up. “I thought you said our conversation would be continued later.” She said slowly, moving into a more defensive stance. 

“It  _ is _ later.” the man smirked. “And in case you forgot, you still owe us an apology.” he added.

Nayoung quirked her eyebrows, watching tensely as the rest of the men came out from the alley. “Oh?” 

“That’s right.” two hands were put rather aggressively on her shoulders, and it didn’t take a genius to realize it was a new mafia member. His voice was deep and immediately got on Nayoung’s nerves. “In fact, we heard that the Number One hero was passing by our district and couldn’t have been happier. We’re still seeking solace, you know.”

She wasn’t really following, but it was obvious by the expressions on the YG members’ faces that it was something important. “Well, as a hero, it is my job to comfort anyone in need of-”

“Yeah, yeah, shut up.” the man gripped Nayoung’s shoulders harder. From the corner of her eyes, she saw another man do the same to Siyeon, who looked a little more than pissed off. “We’re waiting.”

Nayoung’s eyebrows were twitching from the sheer confusion of having so many people expect something very specific of her that she had no recollection of. “I’m sorry, but I think I need to be reminded of what I did that deems such a… dramatic pause in daily life for a simple apology.” she said, glancing around the street for emphasis. From one of the buildings, a nearby flower shop, a woman peeked out from behind the blinds, and then closed them quickly upon seeing the mafia members still in the street. 

One of the men from the alley - Taecyeon, if Nayoung remembered correctly - started walking slowly towards her. “Our old leader was caught up in your crossfire back in the day. He died, but somehow you lived and managed to get out scot free.” a small grin etched its way onto his features. “What do you think of that?”

Nayoung wanted to correct him and say that it was  _ her  _ that was caught up in the crossfire and not the other way around, but she bit her tongue. “Like I mentioned earlier, that incident was nothing more than an accident and I have since redeemed myself.”

That didn’t seem to make his mood any better. “Boss’ death was not simply an  _ incident, _ you fucking rude little b-”

Taecyeon stopped abruptly, a confused expression overtaking his scarred features. Nayoung looked around at the other men and found that they looked just as puzzled. The man looked at his feet, and then back at the heroes, growing increasingly angrier. 

“Hey, what the fuck?” Taecyeon shouted suddenly. “What the fuck did you do to my feet?” he directed at Nayoung, who leaned back and simply stared. The men appeared to all be stuck to the cement. 

From beside her, Siyeon let out a huff. 

“Leave us alone, assholes.” she growled, surprising everyone including Nayoung, “Both of us just want to go home. We don’t want to have to deal with your whiny asses anymore.” 

One of the mafia men seemed to have lost his patience and shot a substance that looked like acid from his hand. It was directed straight at Siyeon.

Nayoung was about to spring into action to try and save her colleague, but her actions were quickly halted as she watched the hero grab the man from behind her and adhere his hand to her shoulder. Quickly, she threw him over her shoulder like a sack of potatoes, putting him in the direct line of the acid.

The screams of pain from the mafia men is what  _ really _ got the others riled up, Nayoung included. As soon as the man behind her loosened his grip momentarily, Nayoung burst out of his grasp and moved into the empty street, facing all of the men at once. 

It was like time had slowed down, which worked in Nayoung’s favour. One man came towards her with blocks of concrete sticking out of his palms. She acted quick, using the nearby dirt from the flower shop’s pots to form large spheres. Spinning them around in the air, the man was quickly choked out and backed off, to which she could finally use them at their full power. 

Hardening the spheres into rock-hard mud, she threw one at the mafia men from the alley, not bothering to watch it connect and knock them out. She had, after all, done this enough times to similar people to know the end result. 

Moving closer, she broke apart the spheres and formed smaller balls, ones the sizes of baseballs. She quickly fortified the balls and solidified them with her power, running a hand along them before throwing them. One impacted one of the mafioso’s neck, while the others curved to hit the other men in similar areas. 

The so-called ‘battle’ was over in a mere few moments. 

It seemed like all the men were knocked out, so Nayoung let her powers falter for a second. She quickly swept up any excess dirt and shuffled it back into the flower pots, making her way over to Taecyeon as she moved. 

The man was slowly regaining consciousness as she approached, but by the time he had opened his eyes Nayoung had already bound his wrists together in her version of handcuffs - fortified dried mud that was nearly impossible to break out of. 

She sighed as she stood up and moved to repeat the tedious action on the rest of the mafioso. Her bones were aching and she was ready for the day to just be  _ over with. _

As she approached the rest, however, something midair made her pause. 

A red dot was suspended near her face, slowly growing bigger and bigger. Nayoung stepped back and summoned a spoke of mud to prod the object, but it seemed to just pass through it. 

The circle grew in mere seconds to the size of her head. The red light was blinding enough to make Nayoung shade her eyes with cupped hands, unsure whether or not to attack or to just leave it be. 

A few more seconds passed and Nayoung looked around to see if anyone else was outside yet, to also witness the occurrence. 

But there was no one. 

By the time she looked back, two bodies were moving out into the street from the red hole, brushing themselves off and straightening up. 

They were two girls. One moved out of sight quickly while the other stepped forward, blocking Nayoung’s view from the rest of the men on the ground.

“Well isn’t this a wonderful way of finally meeting you.” the girl said, lifting her lips into a polite smile. “It’s a pleasure to finally be in your presence, Nayoung.”

Nayoung felt her chest tighten at her actual name being used, but didn’t comment. “I’m sorry, who are you?” she asked, slowly shifting into a defensive stance again. The mafioso men were knocked out for the time being but not permanently, and it was only a matter of time before they woke up and tried to free themselves. 

“My friends call me Two.” the girl gave a toothy grin. “That doesn’t matter right now, though. I’m just here to collect these idiots.” she said, gesturing behind her to where the mafioso men were slowly disappearing into more red portals. “Oh, and there’s no sense trying to catch them. They would all end up escaping from jail anyway. It’s their specialty.”

“Excuse me?” Nayoung glared at Two and looked around, taking in her surroundings as quickly as she could. 

There were too many civilians in the surrounding buildings for Nayoung to uproot any of the sidewalks to cage these new villains in, but regardless they would be able to escape with the portals. She could make more mud spheres, but she wasn’t sure if Two’s power was one that could react poorly with Nayoung’s, which happened with ruffians more often than Nayoung would like to admit. Obviously the girl had a decently strong power if she was just standing in front of Nayoung and blatantly stalling.

Two cracked a lopsided smile. “I thought OSR had tabs on the different powers Pledis harnesses?” Before Nayoung could reply, she kept going, “Well, I guess they aren’t directly under Pledis, so I’ll give you that.”

While Nayoung stood there with her mouth agape in sheer confusion as to what exactly was going on, the girl continued. “These guys attacking you is my bad. I was meant to keep them calm but I kinda slipped up and fell asleep on the job.” 

Two shrugged and glanced over her shoulder, and when her long hair moved away from her neck Nayoung saw a large “2” tattooed right below her jaw. “Oh, wait. Well, I think Lip is done. So much for chit chat.” the girl looked back at Nayoung with an odd smile and waved. “It was sick seeing you in person for the first time. See you around, Lim Nayoung.”

The second person appeared from what seemed like thin air and wrapped an arm around Two’s wrist. In the blink of an eye, they were gone, along with the entirety of the mafioso. Nayoung raised a finger in a sort of dazed wave, unsure as to how exactly she should’ve reacted. 

It took a few moments for the shop owners to start coming out of their buildings, but when they did, most of them immediately went to Nayoung. She was snapped out of her stupor when the florist approached her and thanked her for not destroying her flowers. 

After a few moments of reassuring everything was fine, she felt the adrenaline slowly drain from her veins. She quickly shot a text to Kahi explaining the situation and that she would try to explain when she got back to the agency. It was only when Kahi replied with a reminder to not forget about a certain someone that she halted in beginning to walk away from the scene. 

“Siyeon?”

Nayoung tried to not look frantic as she glanced around the street in search of her little sidekick, but she was nowhere to be found. More people were starting to file out into the streets, and so it was with a great sense of urgency that she started to walk the sidewalk they had come. 

Luckily for her, the alleyway they were previously in was only a few feet away, and when Nayoung walked by it, a small groan got her attention. Siyeon lay crumpled against the wall of the alley, blood surrounding her in puddles. A trail of blood led out from the street, suggesting to Nayoung that the girl had dragged herself away.

Nayoung was quick to approach, immediately checking gently for the source of the injuries. Siyeon looked fine less than five minutes ago, so what would’ve hurt her that badly?

Her hands move to the girl’s head and feel around. Her finger instantly touched more blood when she reached the back of her head, and she stilled. 

She briefly thought back to when she threw the smaller spheres of mud. They were definitely harder than a stone, sure, but they wouldn’t do as much damage as that.

_ Right…? _

Using her power briefly, she clenched and unclenched her right hand in the air, summoning any dirt particles from nearby. Sure enough, from the back of the girl’s injured head, came a large amount of hardened rock and mud. 

_ Fuck. _

Regardless of whether or not it was Nayoung’s fault Siyeon was injured, there were still a lot of questions to be asked, but she pushed them aside. 

It was hard to see any open wounds in the dark alley, and she wasn’t about to drag the girl out into the light for the rest of the world to see just yet. The blood pooled out onto the ground, leaking onto Nayoung’s jeans and staining her hands red. 

  
A flashback is not what she needed but she couldn’t help it. Tears rose to her eyes but were quickly forced away. Numbness worked a lot more in her favour than whatever emotions were building up at the sight of Siyeon looking so limp and… and...

Nayoung shook her own head a few times to get the memories out and wiped the blood off on her jeans. She gently cradled Siyeon’s head in her hands and carefully picked up her body. Trying to think quickly and efficiently, she flexed her pinky finger and formed a few blocks of floating mud to prop on her arms and keep the girl’s head in one place before she took off running down the street towards the agency, not caring in the moment if others saw. 

\---

“Well, she definitely has a brain hemorrhage.” was the first thing Nayoung heard when she woke up. She was disoriented and it took her a few moments to fully wake up and realize she was in the hall of OSR’s medical ward, sitting beside Kyungwon and Minkyung. “Her skull is also fractured at the back towards her spinal column, but the impact only seemed to be about the size of a baseball so it shouldn’t be  _ too  _ bad.”

“That’s fun,” Kyungwon grumbles, and when Nayoung glanced at her it looked like she had just woken up as well. “Can’t you do anything about that?”

Raina stood stiffly outside the bedroom used for treating patients and shook her head. “I tried as much as I could. My power only works on internal damage, so we will have to wait until Goeun arrives to fully heal her, especially for the skull part.”

Nayoung let out a grunt. “Thank you, Raina.” she mumbled, stretching her back in the uncomfortable office chair. “I’m glad I got her back when I did.”

“I’m glad, as well.” Raina frowned and looked at her gloved hands. Blood stained the edges and leaked onto her doctor lab coat. “Any longer and I don’t think I could’ve used my power on her without causing permanent brain damage.” 

The door behind Raina opened and Kahi slipped out, closing it quietly. Nayoung was now fully awake at the appearance of her boss - she had no recollection of her even arriving in the ward, but brushed it off. 

“Hello girls. What an odd predicament we have here,” Kahi chuckled and folded her hands behind her back. Nayoung stood up from her chair to bow with Minkyung and Kyungwon, but were quickly dismissed. “I suppose it was only a matter of time until one of the kids hurt themselves. Doesn’t matter to me, of course - that only gets us more publicity, after all.”

Nayoung smiled sheepishly. “As funny as it would be that Siyeon managed to injure herself that horribly on her own, it was more so my fault than anything.” she bowed again, “I wasn’t paying enough attention to her and I apologize for not acknowledging her injury sooner.”

Kahi let out a laugh. “I’m not the one you should be apologizing to.” 

A shout from inside the room got their attention. It sounded awfully familiar, and Raina let out a small awkward chuckle before muttering, “I’ll be right back,” and slipped back into the room, closing the door tightly behind her. 

It was silent for a moment.

“This is the third time this has happened tonight, sadly.” Kahi sighed, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. 

“Poor Junghyeon wakes up disoriented and starts trying to pull her IVs out. I hope it doesn’t tire out Raina too much for having to use her power on the kid this often,” their boss was more so talking to herself, but then added, “She decided to put you three to sleep as well, by the way. I hope you don’t mind.” 

_ That explains a few things.  _ Nayoung mused, rubbing her sore neck and shrugging. “If it got the job done, then I’m fine with it.”

Kahi hummed. “Do you remember enough to discuss the attack with us right now, Nayoung?”

Nayoung rubbed an eye and nodded.  _ Better now than later. _ “It didn’t really seem like an attack at first.” she straightened up as she gradually made eye contact with her boss. “Siyeon and I further inspected some people in an alley downtown because Siyeon overheard them talking about a similar situation to Bada’s. They confronted me about my… past… and then when we tried to leave they came back and it led to the attack.”

Minkyung seemed lost in thought. Kyungwon pursed her lips and didn’t say anything either, so Nayoung took it as the cue to continue. 

“I guess I didn’t even realize Siyeon wasn’t on the street after I took all the mafioso out, but…” Nayoung pressed her lips together at the memory. “These two girls popped up out of nowhere and took all the men away before I could arrest them.”

That seemed to have gotten everyone’s attention. “Girls?” Kahi asked.

“Like the executives from Pledis?” Kyungwon was frowning. 

Nayoung shrugged. “I don’t know. I’ve never seen either of them before, but one of the girls introduced herself to me as Two.”

Minkyung hummed. “I’ve heard along the grape vine that Pledis was introducing three new executives to the team. Maybe she was one of them.” she mused. 

“That would make sense.” Nayoung agreed, nodding to herself, “She seemed overconfident. Maybe it was her first day out on the streets or something.”

It was quiet for a few moments as the girls all contemplated the new information. 

The door to Siyeon’s room opened again, and Raina came out. “All asleep,” the girl said with a delighted tone, pulling out her earplugs. “Nayoung, I know Siyeon will be up and at it again by tomorrow but I need you to refuse to train her. Actually,” the medic turned to Kahi with a pointed finger, “It would be best for her to not strain herself for the next week or so, just until my power wears off and she can heal on her own. Why don’t you have her do the inside work for next week?”

“That would work,” Kahi agreed, nodding and pulling out her phone. “We should discuss this in more detail tomorrow, but I agree. Junghyeon will work under me for the next week, and the others will be assigned to you three.” 

Minkyung cleared her throat and stood up, stretching her limbs as she did so. “That sounds good. If there’s nothing we can do as of right now, we might as well go home.” she said, and then gave Nayoung a once over. “You especially. You look terrible.” 

“Thanks, Minky.” Nayoung cracked a small smile which quickly turned into a yawn. 

Raina nodded, clutching her clipboard closer to her chest. “I’ll keep an eye on Junghyeon for the night. Get a good night’s sleep, you all did well today.”

“We know.” Kyungwon threw an arm around Nayoung’s shoulders and grinned. “Have a good night, you two.” 

“Good night girls.” Kahi smiled warmly at them, and it was when Nayoung and her two best friends were halfway out the agency did she realize that her boss hadn’t even mentioned anything about Siyeon’s wellbeing, and had instead focused on the publicity.

_ Interesting.  _

Once in the elevator, Nayoung let her shoulders drop. 

“Do you wanna have a movie night tonight, Nayoung?” Kyungwon asked, a little quieter than normal. “I mean, it  _ is  _ Friday.”

Nayoung shook her head slowly. “I’ll pass.” she rested her head back against the elevator and sighed loudly. “I think I’m going to down a bottle of wine and blast music until I can’t hear anymore”

“That sounds… great.” Minkyung says with a small smile, although Nayoung doesn’t miss the way both of her friends exchange a look. “Just make sure not to break any windows this time.”

Nayoung could feel the ache of her addiction, the longing for what was soon to come. “No promises.” she said fleetingly. She could tell the stress from the week was going to come out in a chaotic way sooner or later - it was, after all, the only coping mechanism she used.

When the three friends parted ways outside of the agency, Nayoung said nothing and instead began to power walk home. 


	5. Chapter 1 - Part 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frostbite - Zhou Jieqiong
> 
> Tw: torture

The last thing Jieqiong wanted to do on a Saturday afternoon was to beat up one of her lackeys. 

Yet here she was, relishing the wonderful sound Daesung made when he was repeatedly shot with her ice crystals. 

The ground floor of the Pledis building had long since cleared out in the time it took Jieqiong to drag the lackey to the center of the room and begin taking her anger out on him. Only her partners remained, although Jieqiong paid them no mind and trusted that they would move out of the way if need be. 

Daesung’s groans turned into a guttural scream as Jieqiong used her left hand to form a large icicle and impale it through his leg. As soon as he crumpled to the ground, she was over him, lifting him by the collar and spitting in his face. 

“Who are you to think that you can injure an executive, huh?” she snapped, not caring if her vice grip formed more ice around the man’s body. 

She threw him to the floor and wound back, throwing a punch to his nose. “Your confidence disgusts me. You’re lucky you lasted this long without any of us finding out about your stupid plan.” she threw another punch, this time to his cheekbone, and heard the satisfying crack of it under the pressure. 

The man underneath her only groaned in response, any of his past cockiness completely gone. It only took a few more of her swings at the man until someone spoke up.

“That’s enough, Jie.” Yaebin’s voice echoed in her head and kicked her out of her angry stupor. Her warm hand on Jieqiong’s shoulder soothed the latter’s nerves and made it easier for her to let go of the man’s collar. “You’re going to kill him before we ask him any more questions.”

“You barely made it through the door without hitting him…” came Eunwoo’s voice from the corner of the room. 

Jieqiong sighed and stepped back a little, wiping the blood from her hands on her pants and observing the damage she did. Daesung was still breathing, sure, but he was definitely unconscious. 

“He didn’t seem to mind beating  _ you _ up in a public place. Why should I treat him differently?” she snipped, locking eyes with the pink-haired girl. 

Eunwoo frowned, and Jieqiong watched her hand shoot up to brush against her busted lip and bruised face. 

“It’s not worth it.” Eunwoo bit out, her lips downturned. 

The room’s sounds were overlapped by the jingle of keys at the front door, followed by it creaking open. Jieqiong narrowed her eyes upon seeing familiar faces and the chatter that followed.

_ Try to be their friend. You got this.  _

“Hello,” Jieqiong greeted the triplets, eyeing the bags in their hands. The girls stopped a few feet away from her, arms linked together. “Did you go grocery shopping?”

Hyunjin stood at the front of the trio. “Yeah, we did but, uh…” her gaze was fixated on the unconscious body in front of them. “Why, um…?”

“I smell blood,” Yerim said, shuffling forward from the group with a small grin on her face, “Who fucked up this time?”

“Daesung,” Yaebin bites out. “He wasn’t responding to his calls so we tracked his phone and found him beating up Eunwoo in the YG common area. Apparently he had been doing that for the past few days.”

Jieqiong watched as the sisters’ expressions turned from surprised to angry. “What the fuck?” Hyunjin snapped, dropping her bags on the floor to rush over to Eunwoo. “Bro, are you okay?”

Eunwoo looked mildly uncomfortable. “Uh… yeah. Nako sealed me up a little.”

Yerim, using her low whistling, managed to make her way to Daesung’s body on her own. “Is this allowed?” she asked. 

“What, kicking the shit out of him?” Jieqiong raised an eyebrow. “Of course. We call the shots here, anyway. There isn’t anyone to openly defy what we do.” 

“Except, you know, our Boss.” Hyunjin had opened a wet wipe in her pocket and was beginning to dab at the dried blood still streaked along Eunwoo’s arms and face. 

Jieqiong’s eyes followed every movement like a hawk. 

“Jie runs on her own schedule, Hyunjin. You should know that by now.” Yaebin joked and threw an arm around Jieqiong’s shoulders. “We wanted to take him to the interrogation room for questioning, just a heads up.” she added, more so to Yerim. 

“Are you sure?” came Hyejoo’s voice from the corner of the room, and when Jieqiong looked up to the girl she was tucking into a bag of instant mashed potatoes with a spoon. Jieqiong chose not to comment. “I don’t know if he’ll survive those ice wounds let alone a Yerim Session.”

“It’s fine, Hyejoo.” Jieqiong relaxed a little into Yaebin’s side, letting the girl’s power warm her up for once. “There’s no sense in keeping him alive, anyways. Might as well have some fun while we still can.”

“Oh, yeah, sure. It’s not like we had plans or anything.” Hyunjin grumbled. 

Yerim’s nose was crinkled with disgust as she sniffed the body. “If you freezer burnt his body I’m not doing it. Also, why is it called a Yerim Session when all three of us participate?” the girl spoke to the room, gesturing with her hands to the general area Jieqiong and Hyejoo were. 

“You leave the biggest impact out of the three of you when working.” Yaebin rested her head lightly against Jieqiong’s. “And I mean that in the nicest way possible.”

Hyunjin quickly made her way over and threw Daesung over her back. Jieqiong made a face at the blood that dripped all the way down the girl’s front and onto the floor. 

“No offence taken,” The eldest of the sisters grunted, already walking in the direction of the elevator. “It’s true, anyway. Hyejoo sits there and makes snide comments and I take notes. Yerim’s the only one that does the torture part.”

Abandoning the grocery bags, all six executives piled into the elevator and headed to the basement. Jieqiong slid an arm around Eunwoo’s waist, tucking her in close. Her initial aggressiveness had faded, but the leftover bitterness was still sitting on the back of her tongue, ready to lash out at a moment's notice. 

As soon as the doors opened, Jieqiong and her partners moved into the observation room, shoulders touching as they watched the triplets sloppily put together the interrogation set up.

Yerim seated herself across the table from Daesung, who was still unconscious. Hyejoo and Hyunjin busied themselves with cuffing him to his chair and searching his pockets, lining up all the weapons he had on a stand. 

“This man is fucking ripped.” Hyunjin said with a small cackle. 

“Dude, stop feeling him up.” Eunwoo said, leaning in to the mic so the girl could hear. 

“I can’t help it! I want to have this much muscle one day.”

“You pretty much do already.” Hyejoo commented, moving to a side table that held different tools. There was a cup of some sort of liquid that she set in front of Daesung. “Have you looked at your calves? I still have a bruise from when you kicked me last month.” 

“Can you guys please stop babbling and get on with this already?” Jieqiong snapped, beginning to tap her foot with impatience. “I have better things to do than listen to your chatter.”

The triplets all turned to face the window she stood behind. 

“Okay, asshole.” Yerim pouted. “Why can’t we have a little fun?”

Yaebin stepped forward as well, not looking impressed. “You’ve had enough fun with your past interrogations. Make this quick, my patience is running thin.”

The process of the triplet’s interrogations was always the same, but it had been a while since the person tied up was a member of Pledis. 

Usually it was members of random gangs that were trying to get more power than necessary, or some mob member who had overstepped. This time, it was one of their own - one of  _ Jieqiong’s _ own. Daesung was her right hand man in most of her assassination missions, which made it sting even more to know that he was trying to overpower someone she considered closer than family. 

Hyunjin settled down beside Yerim and Hyejoo grabbed the cup of liquid, splashing it in Daesung’s face and retreating to the back corner quickly. In a split second, the mafioso woke up, signalling the start of the session. Jieqiong turned off their mic and settled back, ready for the show to begin. 

“Good morning.” Yerim said flatly. Her usual cheery personality was long gone and was replaced with her business tone. 

The man jolted in his chair. “What the fuck are you guys doing?” he asked, his voice hoarse. From beside Jieqiong, Eunwoo let out a deep breath. 

"I'm gonna be real with you, Daesung," Yerim said, leaning forward in her seat. "You know how we do things around here. You know how we work. I'm not going to pretend to be your friend just to get answers out of you."

Daesung gulped loudly. The sound echoed in the observation room. 

"Y...yeah, I guess I do." 

"So instead of beating around the bush, I'm just going to ask and I expect you to answer me truthfully. Got it?" Yerim’s vacant eyes were focused sharply on the man in front of her. Hyunjin looked like she wanted to do anything else but sit beside her sister at that moment. 

“Yeah, yeah. Whatever.” the lackey kept trying to readjust himself in his seat. "I don't see why I have to be tied down and beaten up," Daesung snapped, "I didn’t do anything that needed as drastic of measurements as this."

Yerim tilted her head. "So you believe you did nothing that would result in a punishment like this?" she asked, her fingers starting to tap with annoyance on the table. 

Daesung was fidgeting. His head swung back and forth, inspecting the tools that lined the wall before trying to look over his shoulder to where Jieqiong and the others stood. 

"I don't know what you're talking about," he said. 

"I thought I said you were going to be honest," Yerim said in a warning tone.

"I am!" 

"So you never wanted to hurt Diphtheria to get a higher status in the mafia?" Hyunjin asked roughly. 

"No! That wasn't my intention." 

"What the fuck was his intention, then?" Eunwoo snapped, letting out a huff of breath. 

Yerim asked the same question, earning a snort from Yaebin. 

"I just wanted to... I wanted to..." Daesung let out a groan. "You wouldn't understand."

"Enlighten me, then." Yerim said cooly, settling her chin in her hands. 

"I just... I wanted to impress the other mafioso." Daesung's voice sounded weak, contrasting his large structure. Jieqiong curled her lip in disgust but said nothing.

"Oh, really?" Yerim was full-on glaring at the man now. "That's awfully shallow of you." 

Daesung was stuttering, unable to make full sentences. “No, that’s not what I meant- I- uh--”

"Alright." Yerim stood up from her seat. "I think I know what you need, Daesung." 

"Here we go," Yaebin let out a low whistle.

The blind girl made her way over to the table of tools. Jieqiong always found it fascinating how she didn’t even need to use her form of echolocation to see which tools were where - she had used them so frequently to the point where it was muscle memory. 

Yerim picked up a small scalpel and made her way back over. She pressed it to one of Daesung’s wrists that were strapped to the table. 

“I’m going to give you to the count of three,” Yerim said slowly, pressing the scalpel down lightly, “And if you don’t tell me why you beat the shit out of an executive, I’m going to open all your veins and let you bleed out.”

Daesung began to panic. “You wouldn’t. Jieqiong is mean, but she wouldn’t actually let you  _ kill me _ .” he gasped, trying to wriggle away from the girl. 

Jieqiong pressed the button on the mic. “I already have a replacement lined up.” was all she said. It was a lie, but it was enough to make the man desperate. 

“You’re fucking kidding me!”

“One.” Yerim said slowly.

“I don’t have anything to fucking admit! Just let me go already!”

“Two.” Hyejoo said from the corner of the room. 

“You guys are fucking insane!”

“Three.” Hyunjin was smiling.

Yerim pressed down hard on the man’s upturned wrist. The scalpel slid vertically down to his elbow, slicing through a vein. Daesung let out a screech of pain as the table flooded with red.

“I don’t know what to tell you!” The man was sobbing. “I just- I just wanted a higher position and Dipht- Diphtheria seemed like the weaker l-link-  _ ah, stop!” _ Yerim had moved over to his other wrist and promptly sliced it open as well. 

“ _ You’re _ weak, Daesung.” The girl hissed. “You don’t even realize it because of how blind you are.”

“That’s ironic.” Yaebin muttered. Eunwoo let out a snort. 

“I’m sorry!” Daesung screeched through his sobs. “I know- I know it was stupid of me and I’m really s-sorry. You can kick me out if that will make you feel better. I can go back to living on the streets, I don’t mind. Just please don’t kill me.”

“Alright.” Jieqiong knocked on the glass. “I think that’s enough.”

Daesung whipped his head to try and look over his shoulder, and she could see the tears streaking down his face. “So you’ll let me go?” He asked, hopefulness sneaking itself back into his tone. 

“Did I say that?” she snapped back quickly, enjoying the way the man’s face fell into a look of utter despair. “Yerim, take care of him. We’re done.”

The anger on the girl’s face was quickly replaced with one of joy. 

“Looks like we’re done here, Daesung.” she said with a smile before leaping onto him and sinking her teeth into his jugular.

Blood splashed around both of their bodies and coated the girl’s face with red. The only noise Daesung could make was a low gurgle as his blood was quickly drained.

Hyunjin, from beside Yerim, let out a disgusted noise and moved to the other corner of the room. 

“She’s getting spoiled, I think.” Jieqiong muttered. “I don’t think it’s good for her to be having so much blood in such a small amount of time.” 

“I don’t think I could do what the sisters do,” Eunwoo says quietly, crossing her arms over her chest. Jieqiong takes the comment as a moment of weakness and reaches over to tuck a strand of loose hair behind the girl’s ear. “Being that up close and personal with blood seems like it would be too much at times.”

Yaebin hummed from beside her. “Isn’t Hyunjin afraid of blood or something?”

“She doesn’t like touching it,” Jieqiong corrected, silently chastising herself for somehow  _ knowing  _ a fact about the executive. “If you were locked in a basement and basically trained to be a vampire, I’m sure you would be as fucked up about blood as Yerim is.”

Eunwoo shuddered. “I don’t want to think about it. I’m glad I was put in the intelligence unit.” she wiped her hands in front of her, checking for non-existent blood. “I get no blood on my hands.”

Jieqiong let out a snort. Yerim seemed to finally be done with draining, for she let go of Daesung quickly and began to dramatically wipe her brow. Hyunjin stood from her chair and offered some wet wipes.

There was a question hanging in the air, but Jieqiong was unsure if it was insensitive to ask or not. She pressed her lips in a thin line, eyes darting to all five of her colleagues. 

_ Fuck it. _

“Do you think he targeted you first because of your-”

“-My time I spent at OSR? Possibly.” Eunwoo didn’t break her gaze from the scene in front of her, but her eyes narrowed. “Or it could be because they think I’m powerless and he was trying to get rid of the weak ones first. Either way, his plan was stupid.”

She wasn’t sure if a line had been crossed or not from bringing up the past, so she left the topic at that. Yaebin, however, had visibly tensed up. 

Hyejoo turned to the window and knocked on it lightly. “I think he’s got, like, twenty minutes left in him,” she said. “Do we leave him?” 

“Finish him off,” Eunwoo snapped. “I don’t give a shit.” Yerim nodded and moved to the man’s bloodied neck once more.

A knock at the observation door snagged Jieqiong’s attention from the quickly dying mafioso. A few moments passed in which the sound of Daesung’s neck being broken echoed throughout the room, and then the door swung open. 

One of the youngest Pledis members stood in the doorway, looking very nervous. Her dark purple hair was tied into twintails, exposing the shock collar attached to her neck.

“Wonyoung,” Eunwoo greeted her assistant, her previous tone replaced with a more lighthearted one. “What are you doing here?”

The child looked a little uncomfortable to be in the room. She twiddled her thumbs in front of her as she tried to look anywhere but the three pairs of eyes in front of her. 

“Whenever you guys are done with… uh…” the girl looked into the interrogation room for a brief moment, eyes stuck on Daesung’s body. “ _ That _ … Boss wants to see you. All of you.”

Jieqiong felt herself glaring at the child from the news. Wonyoung made eye contact with her and seemed to immediately regret it. 

“...I’ll meet you guys upstairs.” the child said quietly, leaving the room as quick as she had appeared.

The girls were quiet for a moment. Yaebin sighed and leaned forward, turning the mic back on.    
  


“Boss wants to see us. Leave Daesung for now, we can clean up afterwards.” was all she said, her voice suddenly thin. Jieqiong straightened up and cleared her throat, looking down to smooth out her clothes. 

“I don’t like how he keeps that collar on her,” Eunwoo said solemnly, holding the door open for the other two to exit. “She’s a human and  _ he _ seems to forget that.”

Yaebin was out the door and already headed for the elevator. Jieqiong paused in the doorway and sighed, looking deep into her partner's eyes.

“In his eyes, none of us are human, Eunwoo,” she whispered, the constant anger that was in her chest starting to bubble upwards once again. They left the observation room and headed towards Yaebin. “Look at the triplets - he didn’t even give them actual names, just numbers.”

Eunwoo made a soft noise. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

“What about us?” came Yerim’s voice from behind them. 

“...Nothing.” Jieqiong gave the blind girl a side glance and let her enter the elevator before her. 

The ride to the top floor was unsettlingly quiet. 

The triplets pressed themselves against the wall, in their own little bubble like usual. Yerim was using the powers she had gotten from Daesung’s blood, stretching her fingers and expelling shards of metal onto the floor. Eunwoo grabbed ahold of Yaebin and Jieqiong’s hands and squeezed them. It was common for their boss to call one or two of them to his office for missions, but never all  _ six  _ of them at once. 

“You know… Wonyoung’s almost as tall as you, Yaebin.” Jieqiong observed to break the silence, earning a stomp on the foot.

“Shut up!”

“You’re even wearing platform shoes today,” Eunwoo joined in, eyeing the girl’s boots. 

“...Oh my god, Eunwoo, I’m going to kill you.” Yaebin growled, although the comment had no malice behind it. 

From behind them, Hyejoo made a noise. “Wait, how old are you, Yaebin?”

The fire girl narrowed her eyes. Eunwoo nudged her to get her to answer. “I’m 21.”

Eunwoo let out a snicker of laughter. “Wonyoung  _ just _ turned 11-”

“I’m going to set you on fire!”

“-And she’s almost taller than you!” 

“Eunwoo, you’re sleeping in the alley tonight.” Yaebin let out a small spark of flames from her fingertips, nearing the pink-haired girl’s face. 

“It’s not a lie, though.” Hyunjin deadpanned. “You  _ are _ pretty short.”

“Look who’s talking!” the elevator doors opened and the six of them filed out into the hall. Yaebin led the group so she could walk backwards and point fingers at the triplets. “You three can only  _ dream _ of being as tall as me, let alone Wonyoung.” 

“At least they don’t try to hide their height,” Jieqiong said, “I see you wearing heels around the house all the time.”

The end of the hallway was fast approaching, and upon seeing it the laughter amongst the six of them immediately died down. They all paused before the door. 

“Yerim.” Yaebin said, putting her hand on the doorknob. “I figured I should tell you this before we went in.”

“Tell me what?” 

“Your shirt and face are still covered in blood.” Yaebin let out a small snicker and then opened the door. Yerim stuttered out a yelp and quickly pushed to the back of the group as they all flooded into the room. 

Han Sungsoo sat at his desk across the room, hands folded on the desk in front of him. The large window that covered the wall behind him showed off the bustling city of downtown Seoul. His face was shaded from the sun that beat on his back, shadowing the deep lines and wrinkles that Jieqiong could only assume came with his old age. 

“Line up, you six.” he said as soon as the door was shut behind them. “I have something I need to discuss with you.”

Yaebin, as the unspoken leader of the executives, stood front and center. Eunwoo and Jieqiong flanked her, and the triplets filed around on either side. 

“I don’t know what exactly you have been up to,” he started, tone as gravelly and downright  _ ugly  _ as always, “But we are running low on mafioso. I understand some of them overstep some boundaries, but you need to stop. I have been planning something for months now, and I don’t want you six to fuck it up because you don’t know how to hold back.”

Yaebin let out a huff. “This is the first time I’ve heard of you planning anything. How were we supposed to know to hold back?”

Han Sungsoo narrowed his eyes. “That is my bad. I’ve been letting different executives have different pieces of information. That is why I decided it was best to collect you all at once so we are all on the same page.” 

Jieqiong briefly thought back to what Hyunjin had told her earlier in the week. 

Her boss leaned back in his seat and joined his hands behind his head, seeming quite pleased with himself. 

“Before the month ends, I want Kahi and her minions dead and OSR obliterated. They’ve been sitting up on that pedestal of theirs for too long, and I think it’s time we knock these heroes down a peg.” 


	6. Chapter 2 - Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Two - Hyejoo

Mondays never failed to get on Hyejoo’s nerves. 

Especially when she wakes up from ice water being dumped on her.

“Rise and shine, kiddo!” came a voice she knew oh-so-well, jolting her out of her deep sleep. Before she knew it, everything was wet, and her eyes shot open from the jarring sensation.

“What the fuck?” Was what she managed to grumble out, swatting an arm in the general direction of her perpetrator. “Hyunjin, go away!”

“Not until you get up! We have work in half an hour, Hyejoo!”

Hyejoo groaned, rolling out of bed and tumbling onto the floor. One foot caught in the blankets and left her leg suspended in the air. 

“Hyejoo, I have another bottle of water ready to dump on you if you’re not on your feet in the next minute.”

“I’m up! I’m up.” She felt like a newborn calf trying to walk for the first time as she struggled to get up. Her head was still swimming as she moved to her feet and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. 

Hyunjin stood there with a hand on her hip. She set the full water bottle on the nightstand and left without saying another word. 

Hyejoo ran a hand over her face.  _ Fucking... bitchass sister... _

She unplugged her phone from her nightstand and scrolled through her notifications briefly, sending a quick morning text to her assistant before getting ready. 

After showering and getting dressed, she trudged out to the kitchen. The light filtered in through the kitchen window and brushed over the plants that sat on the counter. The cat-shaped keys that usually lay against one of the pots were gone - Hyunjin must've left with Yerim in her car already. 

Hyejoo let out a grunt of exhaustion as she looked longingly at a tin of coffee grounds that sat on the counter. If it weren’t for her sisters and their constant reminders to go to her job, she would spend every day curled up in bed playing games on her phone. Alas, duty called. Duty that required her to be locked up in a cold basement while she watched her sister eat people. 

"Heh," she muttered. "Some kind of fuckin' duty that is. Hyunjin was right when she said I just sit there and do nothing."

She glanced at the clock. She was supposed to clock in at Pledis in five minutes. There wasn’t enough time to brew a pot of coffee, but she felt like her feet were made of lead. 

Her eyes shot back to the tin of coffee grounds. She was about to leave them alone and risk going the day without her dose of caffeine, but a lightbulb went off in her head. 

Hyejoo dug through the silverware looking for her favourite spoon, one that had a wolf engraved into the handle. Without any hesitation, she dug into the tin of grounds and spooned a large amount into her mouth. 

Oh. 

_ Note to self: coffee grounds do not taste good on their own. _

“Mistake,” she mumbled out, spitting the grounds into the garbage immediately. She dug a finger into her mouth, rummaging in to get rid of the grainy pieces that stuck to the roof of her mouth and coated her tongue. 

A bark of laughter startled her out of her thoughts. Out of habit, she held her breath, instantly turning invisible. That seemed to just make the person laugh harder.

Slowly, she lifted her head, peeking over the counter. Her fellow executive sat a few feet away, covering her forehead with a hand as she cackled.

She let go of her breath and materialized again. “Eunwoo?” she managed to stutter out, taking another moment to spit into the garbage. She straightened up, running her undirtied hand through the wrinkles on her shirt. “How long have you been sitting there?”

“Long enough.” the girl chuckled. “Hyunjin let me in before she took off.”

Hyejoo frowned and poured herself a glass of water, downing it before speaking. “What do you need?” 

The older girl frowned back and slipped off the chair. “Hyejoo, I don’t always need something from you whenever I visit outside of work,” she said, crossing her arms with a pout. “I just wanted to chat.”

Eunwoo was someone she had initially feared upon meeting. They were already executives in Pledis when Hyejoo and her sisters were taken off the streets, but she and her partners had been infamous for years before. Yaebin and Jieqiong were ruthless killers, and with the pink-haired girl working as the brains behind the madness they were an unstoppable trio.

It turned out Eunwoo was a dork that sometimes meowed in response to her assistants and wore hot pink Crocs to work. Yaebin and Jieqiong were a little harder for Hyejoo to warm up to, but the fact that they were dating one of the funniest people in the mafia made being kind easier. 

“Are you okay?” was the first thing out of Hyejoo’s mouth when she snapped back into reality. 

“Not really,” the bruise on Eunwoo’s cheek was still puffed out a little, the old shades of purple turning into an ugly yellow. “I haven’t been able to think about anything other than OSR all weekend.”

Hyejoo let out a sigh. 

“I would love to talk to you about that now, but…” she looked back at the clock on the oven. “I’m already two minutes late to work.”

“Oh, don’t worry,” Eunwoo reassured, holding up a hand when Hyejoo tried to reach for her keys. “Hitomi and Wonyoung are in charge of my office and Hyunjin said she wouldn’t mind taking care of your unit by herself for the day.”

The thought of her and her sister’s subordinate and Eunwoo’s assistant taking over the intelligence unit in Pledis briefly crossed her mind.  _ Those two will not hesitate to wreak havoc.  _

“What about Yerim?”

“Hyunjin said she needs to sleep more to ingest the mass amount of blood she had last week.” 

Hyejoo’s eyebrows twitched. Eunwoo had next to no knowledge about the blind girl’s power, so it wasn’t a surprise that she would believe such a blatant lie. She’d have to get back at her sister for waking  _ her _ up and not doing the same to Yerim. 

“Okay, so I’m  _ not _ going to work then.” Hyejoo ran a hand through her still-drying hair and held up a finger. “Before you talk, though. Let me start a pot of coffee.”

While the pot was brewing, the two girls settled on the couch as far away as possible from each other. Hyejoo inwardly thanked the girl for not infiltrating her bubble. “Alright, I’m ready. Lay it on me.”

Eunwoo let out a loud sigh. 

“I just... Jieqiong and Yaebin have been so… different ever since Boss gave us the news on Friday,” she mumbled, eyes shooting to everywhere but Hyejoo. “I mean… they were on edge before, but now they can’t even pretend to relax at home. It’s insane.”

Hyejoo wanted to tell the girl that her sisters had also been very high strung ever since Friday, but when she opened her mouth, Eunwoo started talking again.

“I just… I don’t know how we’re going to pull this off,” she mumbled, tucking her knees under her chin. “Not that I doubt our abilities as executives, but…” she reached to pick at a scab on her knee. “Those heroes… their powers are something else. I'm not usually one to go against Boss's orders, but I think he's in over his head.”

Hyejoo hummed. “I mean, I haven’t seen enough of their work to agree with you, but I’ll take your word for it,” she said with a small smile. Eunwoo snorted but didn’t look up. 

“I mean, what do you think, Hyejoo? Do you… do you think we should try and stop him?”

Hyejoo was quiet for a moment and chewed the inside of her cheek. “Well… Boss gave me and my sisters a roof over our heads and gave Yerim the support she needed, so I always feel like I owe him…” she shifted in place, suddenly uncomfortable. “But attacking OSR is a little much.”

“That’s what Han Sungsoo does, Hyejoo.” Eunwoo’s face was uncharacteristically dark. “He  _ wants _ you to owe him so you feel indebted to him. That's how he's got such a big following.”

A sigh left Hyejoo's lips. "Oh, if only I had enough money I could buy friends and followers." she mused, leaning her head back against the couch. "What was confusing me all weekend is that I thought we were supposed to be on neutral terms with OSR. What changed?"

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Eunwoo grimace. “That's the thing. We were on neutral terms after they got Bada back. Boss has never been known for keeping the peace, though, so I don't know what I expected."

Hyejoo frowned. "Bada?" 

"The blood-bending trainee from OSR. The one that Boss tried to experiment on before she was taken back," Eunwoo waved a hand dismissively. "That all happened when you were still getting settled in this apartment, so I don't fault you for not remembering, but it's a pretty sensitive topic to Boss still. He really thought she wouldn't be saved and would willingly let him experiment on her for years to come."

Hyejoo made a face. "Yikes."

Eunwoo stretched her arms out in a way that reminded Hyejoo of a cat. "I'm somewhat glad Boss decided to tell us what was going on, though. Given the circumstances."

At this point, Hyejoo wasn't sure if she was having a conversation or if she was just a wall that Eunwoo was ranting to. "Boss asked me and Lip to fetch some mafioso from a fight with Gravestone last week without telling me why. They were pretty beat up when I managed to grab them." 

Something flashed in Eunwoo’s eyes that Hyejoo couldn’t decipher. “Yeah. Nayoung is the strongest, I think.”

The sound of the coffee pot finishing rang through the air, but Hyejoo remained seated. 

“Were you and Nayoung… a thing? When you were in OSR?” she asked, her curiosity gnawing at her too much to refrain from asking.  _ Everyone _ was wondering about it, and Hyejoo mentally kicked herself for being such a gossip. 

Eunwoo pursed her lips and looked away from Hyejoo. “No,” she said flatly, her voice rising in volume a little. “I don’t know why everyone asks that, but no. We weren’t.”

Hyejoo felt a little uncomfortable. “Oh, okay.”

The girl made a breathy noise and shook her head. “Anyway. No matter how pissed off Jieqiong and Yaebin are, they don't want to go through with the plan either." she adjusted herself on the couch and dropped her knees to the floor. 

"I haven't talked to Yerim and Hyunjin about it much, but I'm sure they're on the same page." Hyejoo silently yearned for a cup of coffee to get her out of the conversation but felt obliged to stay seated. 

A soft noise behind the couch made Hyejoo look over her shoulder. Yerim stood in the doorframe to the living room, sleep lines all over her cheek and forehead. 

“The smell of coffee woke me up,” was all she said, giving a lousy salute to Hyejoo. “Good morning, Eunwoo.”

The blind girl moved slowly to the kitchen. Eunwoo let out a small ‘hello’.

The conversation came to a halt as they listened to Yerim bustle around in the kitchen. In a few moments, the girl appeared, carrying two cups of coffee. She lifted a foot to maneuver around, kicking Eunwoo’s legs and the edge of the table before setting the cups down. 

“Thanks, Yerim,” Eunwoo said with a small smile, reaching out to one of the cups. Yerim sat between the two girls, chopping a hand down on Eunwoo’s arm with worrying force before she could grasp the cup.

“This one’s mine. If you want coffee you gotta go get it yourself,” she said with a small smile. Eunwoo's cheeks flushed and looked to Hyejoo, who could only shrug in response. 

Eunwoo quietly excused herself and went to go get herself a cup. Yerim leaned back on Hyejoo as soon as the pink-haired girl was off the couch, heaving a big sigh as she did so. 

“Why is she here?” Yerim said quietly. Hyejoo rolled her eyes and shoved her sister’s shoulder, pushing her off of her and onto the floor. 

“She came to talk and you interrupted, dumbass.”

“How was I supposed to know? I can’t see!” Yerim whined, reaching out to grasp at the air helplessly. Hyejoo watched her writhe on the floor for a second before she grabbed an arm and pulled her back up.

“You could’ve used your other senses, but… whatever.” 

A moment passed where Yerim grumbled to herself and sipped at her mug angrily. Eunwoo appeared again, awkwardly moving around the couch to sit back in her spot. 

“Are you here because of your dumbass girlfriends?” Yerim said. Hyejoo snorted and hit her shoulder.

Eunwoo let out an uncomfortable laugh. "Kind of, but not really." she gave a quick synopsis of what she told Hyejoo earlier to Yerim. 

The blood-drinker was quiet for a moment as she sipped her coffee. “Boss can be a bit dumb sometimes,” she said, and Hyejoo watched with mild disgust as her sister’s tongue caught on one of her sharp canines. “I don’t think this is a right move, and it will probably get us all killed.”

“Maybe that’s what he wants.” Eunwoo pointed out slowly. Yerim looked a little shocked but agreed nonetheless.

“I don’t think us executives have enough power to overrule Boss and all his gross lackeys he’s gathered in the past few weeks,” Hyejoo mumbled, looking at the contents of her mug numbly. 

Yerim made a noise. “If all six executives are in agreement that he has to stop… we have no choice but to contact  _ her _ , then.”

Hyejoo gulped so abruptly it hurt. “ _ Her _ ?”

“Yeah.” Yerim nodded and pulled out her phone. As she directed Siri to open up the messaging app and to text said person, Hyejoo couldn’t help but notice that Eunwoo looked incredibly lost. 

“Who’s  _ her _ ?” she asked, peeking around Yerim’s body to give Hyejoo a confused look. The younger girl sighed and pulled out her phone, going onto the internet and typing up a specific animal name. 

She showed Eunwoo the screen as she continued to scroll through. Just the animal itself seemed to tip the girl off. 

“Her,” Hyejoo answered after a moment.

“Oh.  _ Her _ .”

“The Rabbit.”

  
  



	7. Chapter 2 - Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> X - Park Siyeon/Junghyeon

“Let me out!”

“Siyeon, I thought I told you to keep your voice down!”

“Let her, Raina. I think she’s done listening to us.”

“That’s fuckin’ right!”

Siyeon burst from the elevator, nearly slipping on the polished lobby floor as she skidded out the doors. She heard Goeun and Raina make a few comments behind her but she gleefully ignored them. For the first time in nearly a week she was able to leave the basement of OSR, and she couldn’t be happier.

A gleeful laugh escaped her as the rising sun hit her face and warmed her cheeks. She stretched her arms out, feeling the light breeze on her face and listening to the soft murmurs of people walking by. One of Kahi’s dumb policies as a hero was to not be seen in public when injured, so Siyeon admits she bolted for the door as soon as she was cleared from the infirmary. 

“Siyeon?”

She tilted her head to the side, dropping her arms as she spotted her best friends down the sidewalk. Siyeon didn’t even know what time it was, but judging by the tired expression on all three girl’s faces it had to be pretty early. 

Even though the four of them - plus Bada - had been texting all weekend and updating the injured girl on what they were doing, it still felt like Siyeon hadn’t seen them in months. The pure joy that rocketed through her body at seeing her favourite people was a feeling unlike any other, and she found herself trying to suppress a grin as they approached. 

“I have perfect timing, don’t I?” she said, giving them a once over in their costumes. “Long time no see.”

“Long time no see indeed,” Kyla quirked an eyebrow at her. “Are you finally healed?”

Siyeon instinctively reached up to brush her fingers against her bandage. She was still a little bitter the medics had to shave part of her head to get at the wound. “ _ Finally. _ I’m still mad I had to wait until the week was half over to do anything.”

“That’s what you get for refusing to let your body heal,” Sungyeon deadpanned. “I’m sure they would have let you go on Monday like they had initially planned if you hadn’t been a dumbass.”

Yewon began to circle Siyeon, poking and prodding at some of the scabs and bruises that still lay on her skin. 

“You look like you haven’t eaten in days. Did Raina not feed you?” the girl asked, pressing a hand against Siyeon’s back lightly. There was a tingling sensation that felt as warm as the sun above their heads, and she felt her muscles ease at the healing properties Yewon’s power held. 

“If eating Goeun’s nasty herbs and tonics count as  _ food _ , then yes.” Siyeon groaned. 

“We’re right here, you know.” Goeun had come up from behind Siyeon with a small smile on her face. “I’ll have you all know that we prepared good food for Siyeon for every meal of the day. She just refused to eat any of it.”

Yewon’s frown shifted from Goeun to Siyeon. “ _ Siyeon!” _

“I know, I know.” There was a beat in which she stared at the ground. “At least I get to rest this week, anyway.”

“Yeah,” Sungyeon looked a little relieved. “Have fun being indoors for the rest of the week. It’s been such a breath of air working with people other than Kahi. Not that I disliked working with her,” she added the last part quickly upon seeing Raina’s glare, “I just get a bit claustrophobic sometimes.”

“I’m sure the fact that you’re moulting was just the icing on the cake for Kahi.” came a voice, and when Siyeon looked back to the front doors, the Big Three were approaching. She made eye contact with Nayoung, who gave a curt nod and nothing else. 

“Oh come  _ on. _ It’s not like I can control that.” Sungyeon grumbled to Kyungwon, who laughed heartily. The bird mutant crossed her arms for emphasis, only for a few downy feathers to fall with the motion. Kyungwon laughed harder. “ _ Stop! _ ”

“You think it’s bad here? Our apartment is a mess right now!” Kyla groaned, giving a glance to Siyeon who rolled her eyes. “You should be glad you were away up until today, Siyeon. The hall was coated with feathers when I woke up this morning.”

“Do you wanna die, Kyla?” 

“Alright, that’s enough.” Minkyung stepped toward Yewon, who had been watching the exchange with wide eyes. “I don’t want to waste any more time. Siyeon, Kahi is waiting for you in her office.”

Siyeon straightened her posture and nodded. “Yeah.” she gave a small wave to her friends who were already beginning to walk away. “I guess I’ll see you all later.”

“Have fun with Boss.” Kyla flashed a small smile, while Sungyeon saluted. Yewon moved forward to give a quick hug, and then they were gone. 

Goeun and Raina followed Siyeon back inside while the other heroes took off. She watched the pairs take off in her peripheral vision - Kyla and Kyungwon sped off on the latter’s motorcycle, Minkyung and Yewon started on foot, and Sungyeon and Nayoung used their respective powers to propel themselves in the air for faster travel. Siyeon felt the bitter taste of jealousy settle in the back of her throat but pushed it back. 

“Kahi will be waiting for you in her office,” Raina said, giving Siyeon’s back a pat. “As much as I adored your presence in my infirmary I would rather you not show up again for the next few weeks at the least. So try not to be dumb.”

“Gee, thanks,” Siyeon said flatly. “I’m glad I made such a good impression.”

“You always do.” Goeun was laughing, and although Siyeon knew there was no malice behind the teasing it still hurt a little. 

The ride to the 12th floor was short, even when it paused halfway so someone could shuffle in. 

“Morning, Heejin.” she greeted. 

The rabbit hero grunted in response. Her eyes were sunken and dark, and her big gray ears that usually stood upright flopped down. In her hand was a very large cup of coffee, gripped tightly like it was her lifeline. Everything about her presence was depressing, and if Siyeon brought herself to care more she would ask about the wellbeing of her coworker. 

Heejin got out of the elevator as soon as the doors opened on Kahi’s floor, trudging forward and pushing past the few people in the room. Siyeon watched with mild interest as the hero knocked on Kahi’s door, paused, and then entered all while looking like she wanted to die. 

The door closed quickly behind her, and a moment passed where Siyeon wondered if she was allowed to also knock. Then, the door opened again, and a different person was thrown out. 

Chaewon stumbled a little as she shifted her body to avoid dropping the stack of papers in her arms. Siyeon moved quickly to catch any falling sheets and steadied the girl with a hand. 

“Are you alright?” she asked, stepping back once the girl was solid on her feet.

“Ah, yeah.” Chaewon’s head was ducked down, holding the papers to her chest as if her life depended on it. “I was told to come and get you.”

Siyeon looked past the girl to Kahi’s door and then back. “Did something happen?”

“Nope.” she said a little too quickly, “She just has a lot on her plate right now and wants me to do this paperwork with you for the week.” She shifted a little on her feet and then walked back to the elevator without another word. Siyeon stared after her for a second before catching up. 

“What’s the paperwork we have to do?” she said when the elevator door was closed. 

“Oh, the usual. Permits, reading applications and sending out responses. Things Kahi should be doing but has no time for.” The floor Chaewon worked on was only the floor below them, so it was a short ride. “And apology letters we’re sending out to all the small businesses and families affected by your incident back in March.”

Siyeon flushed. “Oh.” Sungyeon hadn’t given details of what Kahi had made her do last week - she had only ever complained greatly about it and then got annoyed when anyone asked. Writing apology letters for something she felt little to no guilt about was probably the source of her irritation. 

She had stepped foot on the 11th floor of the OSR building a few times before, but every visit the layout was different. This time, the entire main area was covered in plants. Some were hanging from the ceiling that fell to the floor, while others were lined neatly beside each other on staggered shelves. There were no windows that she could spot, but the number of sunny lamps placed haphazardly around the main area seemed to make up for it. If Siyeon didn’t know any better, she would think the floor was a garden and not an office.

Workers were scattered around on the floor, greeting each other and chatting over their coffee cups. Siyeon could only spot two people she remembered the names of and they were beside each other, each watering different plants. One was short and had bobbed hair that was neatly swept behind her ears, and the other was much taller and had long brown locks Siyeon would die for. 

Chaewon either read Siyeon’s mind or also has the same colleagues, as she tilted her head in their direction and walked over.

“Morning,” Chaewon said meekly. 

The shorter one looked over and gave a big smile and wave. “Morning, girls!” she set the watering can down on the ground for a second and wiped her forehead. “Let me finish watering these guys and I’ll come chat.”

“You know Haseul and Kaeun, right?” Chaewon directed to Siyeon, her eyes a little bit brighter after seeing her friends. Siyeon rolled her eyes and nodded. 

“Of course I do. Kaeun was the first person I met when I came to OSR.” she unfurled her crossed arms and stretched one out, poking at the inside of her elbow. “I was also the first one of my friends to be…  _ sampled _ at the time.”

“You make that sound like it’s a bad thing,” Kaeun had also set her watering can down and had made her way over, tucking her hands in her pockets. “Your power is very unique, and I needed as much time to research it as possible.” 

“Research,” Chaewon added with air quotations. “I don’t think I saw her for at least two days after she took your blood sample.” 

Haseul had also walked over and enveloped Chaewon in a hug. Kaeun chuckled. 

“As I said - your power is very unique,” she said to Siyeon, who sighed and nodded. _That’s not always a good thing._ “It resembles Kahi’s a little. Her power took me the longest to understand, and it also was the power that took the most amount of blood.” the woman grimaced, which made Siyeon’s stomach roll. 

“That’s not true,” Chaewon piped up, “Jinsoul’s also took a pretty big amount of blood.”

Kaeun hummed in response. “That’s because of the whole water portion of her power. Remember what happened when Haseul-”

“Don’t remind me,” Haseul said, tightening her hold on Chaewon. “That was a very stressful day.”

Siyeon felt very lost. “Uh…”

Kaeun’s gaze snapped from Haseul and Chaewon to Siyeon. “Is everything alright?”

She was unsure if it was her brain damage’s fault or just these specific people that made her feel socially awkward, but she failed to form proper words. “Yeah, I’m just… out of the loop.”

The tall brunette laughed. “Sorry. Because of how poorly received her power was, Haseul and I mentored Chaewon when she came to OSR. The three of us are pretty close.”

“Our powers aren’t that popular with the public either,” Haseul reminded Kaeun. A soft smile settled on the girl’s features that felt motherly. Siyeon relaxed a little. “You’re kind of like one of us, Siyeon. Kaeun has to drink blood to research and she hates it-”

“Who wouldn’t?” Kaeun grumbled out. 

“-I freeze red blood cells, Chaewon sees how people die,” Siyeon didn’t miss the way the girl in question flinched, “You can infiltrate people’s thoughts or the way their bodies move. We have different powers, but we’re all the same. We’ve all been treated like villains when we’re the exact opposite.” Haseul moved to put a warm hand on her shoulder. “Don’t feel like you’re alone.”

That certainly wasn’t what she was expecting at 9 in the morning from someone she had probably spoken to once before, but she felt like a weight was lifted off her shoulders. Her eyes even threatened to tear up. 

Kyla, Yewon, and Sungyeon had mild powers compared to hers. They were always referred to as the ‘next Big Three’ because of the way their powers complemented one another. They could work seamlessly and without any mishaps. Adding Siyeon to the mix didn’t make a difference, especially after years of training, but others didn’t seem to see that. 

Those three were  _ also _ never seen by the public eye as a villain because of their power. Siyeon’s mouth still unconsciously grimaces when she thinks back to the first few weeks of being a hero - everyone was convinced she was lying about wanting to be a hero, and her rash personality didn’t help the situation one bit. 

It’s still a little hard for Siyeon to fully believe someone when they tell her they think her power is cool. 

“Thanks, I guess.” she reached back to rub her neck but stopped when she felt the bandages. “I didn’t know it was that obvious that I felt left out.” 

“It’s easier to see it when you’ve also experienced it,” Kaeun said with a chuckle. 

Siyeon hummed. “I… Bada’s the only one I’ve ever felt like I could talk to about having intense powers, but ever since she returned she’s been training, so…”

“Well, tell Bada to stop by my office if she ever needs to get away from the people with muted powers.” Haseul stepped back to wrap an arm around Kaeun and Chaewon’s shoulders. “That goes for you, too. The rest of OSR doesn’t understand what it’s like to wield something with such devastating results.” 

She tilted her head. “Muted powers?” Siyeon raised an eyebrow.

“That’s the nickname we use for people who don’t have as intense of power like us. There aren’t criteria for it, but it’s a bit obvious where most people fall.” Kaeun waved a hand. 

Siyeon felt like a child asking adults for help. She felt so out of the loop suddenly. “Who… who all in OSR are considered…  _ non-mute? _ ” 

“Chaewon, Haseul, Kaeun, Nayoung, Siyeon, Bada,” Chaewon said instantly, the names coming out of her mouth like a mantra. “Kyungwon could be considered one too if she couldn’t shift into a normal wolf and only had her werewolf form.”

“Ah.” Siyeon ran over the names in her head. Of  _ course _ , Nayoung had to be a part of them. Why wouldn’t she be? “Cool. I guess.” 

The three girls seemed satisfied with her response.

“You two better get to the office and start the day,” Kaeun said, looking at Siyeon expectedly. “We can talk again at lunch.”

“Oh… yeah.” Chaewon adjusted the papers in her arms. “My office is this way, Siyeon.” As they were moving away from the two older ladies and to the back of the room where the offices were stationed, she added, “Sorry if the room is a bit too much. I’ve been told it overwhelms people.”

No amount of precaution could ever fully prepare Siyeon for Chaewon’s office. 

The room was decked out in childish cartoon merchandise. The parts of the walls that didn’t have windows or a TV were covered in posters of anime and Kpop groups alike. Shelves lined the walls that were overflowing with figurines and bright albums. The real icing on the cake was what sat at the desk in the corner of the room: two life-sized teddy bears, a dog and what looked to be a type of raccoon, sat in chairs, facing each other across the desk. 

After a good minute of staring while Chaewon turned on all the lights, she finally snapped back to reality and grabbed the arm of the raccoon thing, tugging on it to pull it out of the chair.

“Stop!” Chaewon shouted immediately. Siyeon retracted her hand as if it burned her. 

“What the fuck is it now?” she found herself snapping. Chaewon didn’t bat an eyelash. 

“Don’t… don’t touch Tom Nook,” she said, her cheeks burning red. “Him and Isabelle… they own those seats. I sit on the floor to do work.” to emphasize her statement, Chaewon plopped down on the ground beside the desk cross-legged. 

Siyeon felt like she was just slapped in the face. She looked between the raccoon…  _ Tom Nook _ … and Chaewon before shrugging and sitting down on the floor as well. It seemed she didn’t have room to say no.

Chaewon finally set the stack of papers down on the ground between her and Siyeon. “Grab a sheet and follow the directions on the sticky note,” she said, taking a sheet off the top. She pulled a gigantic butterfly pencil case out from who-knows-where, setting it against the stack. “Here’s some pens if you want.”

The entire interaction felt so surreal and greatly contrasted with anything she had expected of the girl. Chaewon, the short blonde girl with dead fish eyes and shaky hands, was a closet anime fan who owned gigantic stuffed animals. 

The girl had already started on her work, so Siyeon found no other option but to start as well. She quickly wrote out one apology note to a small business that was affected by the angered mafia members, scribbling it out in red ink before switching to a black pen overtop. 

She looked up at Chaewon. The girl was focused on her papers, hand pressed to her temple as she thought. 

The two of them weren’t friends and had never really had time to have conversations aside from ones monitored by Kahi, but Siyeon always felt a sense of comfort coming from the girl. She always considered Chaewon to be the weird aunt of the OSR family - if the aunt had probable PTSD from her power and looked like the only time she slept was when she blinked. 

Siyeon briefly thought the poor girl would probably be able to get some rest if it weren’t for her new supervision duty. 

Truth be told, she felt a little bad about her injury. If she hadn’t been in Nayoung’s way she wouldn’t have caused the agency more stress than usual. 

It certainly didn’t help that it was  _ Nayoung _ of all people she was being supervised by.  _ Nayoung _ , who was already pretty emotionally stunted and had drunk-texted her on the weekend. Luckily for both parties, the paragraphs were illegible.

“I… I feel a bit guilty that I put everyone in this situation,” she said, looking down at her hands. They were still scabbed and a bit bruised from the rocks she…  _ encountered _ the week prior. “I’m sorry you have to be stuck with me.”

“What?” Chaewon waved a hand dismissively immediately. “I don’t mind at all. It’s been a while since I saw any of you new kids let alone got to talk to you.”

“You say that like I’m not the same age as you,” Siyeon jokes.

Chaewon’s mouth forms a thin line. “Technically, yeah. Mentally, though? I got you beat.”

Siyeon resisted rolling her eyes. This girl could compete with Sungyeon in terms of dramatic behaviour. “How so?”

The girl looked tired. “Visualizing people’s deaths as soon as you make eye contact with them can age you, Siyeon. My only saving grace is that it only happens once for each person.”

She looked down at the papers in front of her and then back up. Her tone was suddenly flat and dead, it kind of spooked Siyeon. 

“Kahi was scared when she first met me. I hold a lot of very valuable and personal information about her and our colleagues, even if the death snippets are only a few minutes long. I’m given the time of day, location, people involved, and, of course, cause.” she sucks in a shaky breath. “It’s kind of made me a bit scared to interact with anyone, to be honest.”

“Why the fuck would you stay here if you have to encounter that much shit every day?” Siyeon grumbled. Chaewon’s power was to blame for her trauma, but Kahi didn’t seem to make it any better. “If you lived in a house on a farm far away from the city I’m sure you wouldn’t have to be so on edge about meeting new people.” 

One thing that always confused Siyeon about OSR was how Kahi treated her employees that weren’t heroes. Being a hero meant you were one of her children, one of the select few she had hand-picked out of the thousands of applications and decided to personally train. Being support staff sounded a lot different. 

Chaewon looked a bit upset. “I don’t want to be more of a burden than I already am,” she said quietly, picking at the edge of a sheet of paper. “Kahi and Nayoung have already made so many sacrifices just to keep me alive. I don’t want to cause them more stress.”

Siyeon swore she knew more about the agency she worked at, but maybe she was mistaken. “Nayoung?”

“She’s the one that raised me. Kinda.” Siyeon’s eyebrows shot into her hairline. “She knew my parents before I was born, and when they died she took me in. When she became a trainee here, she introduced me to Kahi.” she played with the hem of her skirt with a shaky hand. “I’ve been here ever since, and Nayoung’s only come to visit 32 times in the 12 years I’ve been here.”

_ Now you made her sad, dumbass.  _

“At least you get to be stuck in here every day and not out on the streets or in the office dealing with Nayoung’s shit,” Siyeon said before she could stop herself, “There hasn’t been a week that passed where she hasn’t had some dumb dating scandal or a kid challenging her to a duel in the middle of downtown.”

Siyeon has always considered herself a very honest person. There hasn’t been a day where she hasn’t stuck her foot in her mouth from her brutal speech. Why is why, for a split second, she thinks Chaewon is going to chastise her for speaking so horribly about her coworker and feels a little worried.

Her mouth opens and then closes. Siyeon can practically see the gears working in her brain. 

Then the girl’s eyes light up. 

“Oh my God I  _ know _ ,” she said, and Siyeon swore a small smile was creeping onto the girl’s mouth as well. “I’m so cooped up in here but I  _ always  _ hear about her stupid drama somehow. That’s one of the few things I don’t recall ever being a problem before she was a hero.”

Siyeon forced down a giggle that was starting to bubble up. The poor girl probably hadn’t even talked to anyone aside from Haseul and Kaeun in a few weeks, let alone  _ gossip. _

Luckily for Chaewon, that was Siyeon’s favourite sport. 

“I didn’t think she had that much drama surrounding her until the others and I joined her as heroes,” she said. 

Chaewon shook her head eagerly. “No, she’s always been involved in one thing or another. Being the most popular hero does that to you. All the publicity and drama flocks to her before it can even brush the others. That’s probably why Minkyung and Kyungwon are always on her heels - to back her up.” 

Siyeon always considered the Big Three to be on a different level than the other heroes, which was both unfair and frustrating to the others in the field. There wasn’t much anyone could do about it, though. 

“I’m kind of glad I’m not that popular, then,” she said, chewing the inside of her mouth. “I don’t know if I could deal with that much intense drama every week.”

“I understand. I mean, I’m not a hero, but I understand the amount of pressure put on you.” Chaewon let out a sigh and leaned back on her hands. “I try to understand, anyway. I don’t leave my office enough to get a good grasp of hero life.”

“It always sounded like Kahi was keeping you as a sort of prisoner. Even though she says you’re an essential member of OSR, she doesn’t treat you like one.” 

Chaewon stared back with a pained expression. “I know.” A long moment passed where they just sat there and stared at each other, and then, “Can I tell you something kind of fucked up?”

Siyeon’s chest immediately clenched at the words. The blonde’s power and the results it had on other people flashed through her mind, but she quickly dismissed it. She was bound to find out, anyway. “Sure.”

Chaewon looked a little uneasy all of a sudden, eyebrows furrowed and mouth twisted.

“Sometimes I wish I could be a villain. Just to have more people around that understand the more twisted part of hero culture.”

Ah. “I mean, you have us instead of… you know… villains. To talk about that, I mean.” Siyeon scratched her head. “You don’t have to become evil to understand our ways of life can be messed up.”

Chaewon flushed. “Evil? Yeah, I guess. I don’t know.”

There was something that wasn’t quite sitting well with Siyeon. “Do you have something to say?”

The girl shifted in her seat, looking uncomfortable. “Not really… I mean… well, kinda.” there was a pause, and then, “I’ve been sort of… talking with someone from Pledis.”

Siyeon quirked an eyebrow. “Why?”

Her ears were turning red. “I ran into her outside the building a while back. Her power… she can become… oh, I guess it’s not important. Anyway,” Chaewon seemed to make herself smaller and smaller. 

“She’s really sweet and she gets me ice cream sometimes. We don’t talk about hero and villain stuff, just so you know! It’s always really surface level and sometimes when we meet up we don’t even speak and just… enjoy each other’s company.” 

Siyeon couldn’t help the glare that settled on her face. “You’ve become friends with a member of Pledis.” It wasn’t a question. 

“No! I mean… well, yeah, I guess I have.” Chaewon’s entire face was red now. “Look, Siyeon, I know it sounds bad, but this has been going on for months and nothing bad has happened. If Kahi ever finds out about it then I’m willing to cut H- the Pledis girl out of my life, but  _ please _ don’t tell her. Or anyone else.”

“Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t tell Kahi,” Siyeon said flatly, patting herself on the back for how monotone her voice sounded when her heart was about to beat itself out of her chest. What if Chaewon had finally snapped and was giving important information about OSR to Pledis?

“Siyeon,  _ please. _ I finally,” Tears began to bud in the corner of Chaewon’s eyes. Siyeon sighed. “I finally have a friend that genuinely wants to talk to me for fun and not use me for their gain. It’s  _ so _ refreshing and I just…” she let out a shaky breath. “She’s the first good thing that’s come out of my life in  _ such  _ a long time. I don’t want to ruin it just yet.”

For a brief moment, Siyeon wondered who the girl was. Images of Frostbite and Phoenix’s old mugshots passed her mind. 

“Why would you tell me if you don’t want anyone knowing?” 

Chaewon was frowning. A small tear escaped and began to roll down her cheek. “I needed to tell someone. It was eating me alive and I couldn’t stand it anymore.” she looked at her hands. “That, and… I figured you would probably find out anyway. With your power.”

Siyeon adjusted herself so her feet were tucked underneath her. “It doesn’t work like that. I can only hear people’s thoughts when I adhere to them, I can’t see images.”

The girl wiped away the tear that had made its way to her chin. “Really? I thought you could see, too.”

She rolled her eyes. Did Chaewon not do the tiniest of research? “No. I’ve never tried to do that, though,” she admitted. “I’m not entirely sure how, and it’s hard to focus on someone’s thoughts if the images are constantly changing.”

They were both quiet for a few moments. Siyeon felt scrutinized under Chaewon’s dull gaze, and she shifted uncomfortably. 

“I’m gonna order a pizza,” the girl announced randomly, reaching out for her phone. “We can eat and then see what we can do about that.”

Siyeon frowned. “What do you mean by that?” 

“Well,” Chaewon looked at her with an expression that Siyeon could only describe as  _ sassy. _ “I’m really hungry, and Kahi frowns upon me ordering pizza by myself because she thinks I carb-load too often.”

She groaned. “Not that, dumbass. The ‘we can see what we can do about that’ part.”

“Oh. I can always try and help you with your power.” Chaewon raised the phone to her ear with a quirk of her eyebrow. “You need someone that has a very vivid imagination.”

Siyeon quickly picked up with a sense of dread at what the girl was laying down. “And you are just the right person for the task.”

“Exactly.”

\--

One of the most devastating things Siyeon learned about Chaewon, she decided, was the fact that she eats pineapple on her pizza. 

“It’s not  _ that _ bad,” the girl whined, watching as Siyeon plucked the pieces of her slice for the fourth time in a row. “It adds a nice crisp touch.”

“It’s a fruit,” Siyeon said flatly. “I don’t need more fruit on my pizza than there already is.”

“Oh, you’re one of  _ those  _ people.” Chaewon wrinkled her nose as she took a large bite of pizza. “Are you ready?” 

Siyeon put the crust of her last piece on her paper plate. She folded her hands together, straightening her back and looking at Chaewon directly. “Sure. I don’t have much faith in this working, by the way.”

Chaewon shrugged. “You’ll never know if you don’t try.” she set the rest of her pizza back on her plate as well. “I’ll try to keep the images as vivid as possible. I hope you’re okay with seeing blood.”

She snorted and relaxed her body, letting her power take over. She felt the telltale tug in her head as she stared at Chaewon, making eye contact and holding it. 

She could hear Chaewon’s thoughts, echoing in her head and interrupting her moment of peace. Instead of listening like she usually did, however, she pushed further, prying deeper into the girl’s mind and looking for something she usually didn’t try to see. 

Siyeon dug around in the girl’s head, trying to search for anything that was more than audio cues. For shits and giggles she closed her eyes, but she still came up empty. 

“I’ve got nothing,” she said, opening her eyes and separating from the girl’s head. Chaewon shivered. “I guess we can always try tomorr- wait.” 

Chaewon had already started to stand up, but paused halfway. “Wait, what?”

Siyeon blinked hard a couple times. “I think I saw something in the corner of my vision,” she said. Her heartbeat started to quicken.“Right before I separated from your head, I could- I could see something.”

Chaewon’s mouth formed an ‘o’. “What did you see?”

“I don’t know,” she snapped, “It was all a blur. But…” she looked down at her hands. They were shaking. “I  _ saw _ something. You were right. I think.”

Chaewon clapped like a child, bouncing on her knees. “That’s great! I knew you had it in you.” 

After they were both settled down, Siyeon tried again and again. Even when Kaeun stopped by to offer lunch, they refused and continued. She kept separating and adhering to Chaewon’s head, focusing more and more on working at visualizing. 

“We can play a game,” Chaewon eventually said with a smile that didn’t sit well with Siyeon, “I can reimagine the death of someone you  _ know _ instead of a random person, and you tell me who it is.”

_ Oh boy.  _ “...Alright.” She grabbed a tissue box off the desk and sat against the wall, leaning her head as far back as it could go. “

There were shapes. Lots of shapes. Big blue rectangles and small pink circles bounced across her vision. Long green sticks shot up from the ground, covering a darker blob that lay still. 

“Can you see anything?” Chaewon’s voice came from outside, voice sounding a bit foggy as they did when Siyeon was adhering to something. She raised a finger to shush the girl and focused harder, pushing herself to her to the limit with this newfound part of her power. 

She felt herself slip away into a void as she delved further into the girl’s head. Her body felt like it was coated in a layer of ice, chilling her to the bone as she tried to focus. 

The shapes slowly came into focus, and before she could make out any faces they changed. The world around her stilled a lot faster, and she found herself in a hospital. 

Many people surrounded a bed - fifteen at the least. The face slowly formed, and she couldn’t help the gasp that came out when she saw one of her best friends. The bright smile she wore despite being on her deathbed was what gave it away. She was quite obviously an elderly woman, but it was still her. A quick glance around confirmed who it was, especially after seeing the multitude of vines and flowers slowly becoming more and more clear. 

When she separated from Chaewon’s brain, her head felt a little fuzzy. She could feel the familiar warm sensation of blood flowing down her nose, and she blindly reached out for the tissue box on the floor. 

“Sorry,” she wheezed out, dabbing at her nose with a handful of tissue, “I need to take a break I think.” 

Chaewon looked a little upset. “It’s alright. I forgot you should be taking it easy. Are you okay?” 

Siyeon settled for just ripping all the tissues out of the box and pressing them to her face. “Yeah, this just happens when I push myself too much. It’ll go away in a second,” she grunted. “But… was that…?” 

“Juniper,” Chaewon confirmed. “Er… Yewon.”

The girl was silent as Siyeon continued to let her nose bleed. At some point in time, she started to feel it trickling back into her throat, but she didn’t say anything and instead got up to move to the garbage can. 

“I think we are done for today,” Chaewon said over the sounds of Siyeon gagging. “I have games we can play until the end of the day. How does that sound?”

Siyeon threw a thumbs up in her direction. 

As soon as her nosebleed had stopped, she returned to her spot where Chaewon had plugged in her Switch and was playing some game with pixelated characters.

“Stardew Valley,” Chaewon said once Siyeon was seated, “When you mentioned me living on a farm earlier it reminded me I own this game.” the girl sighed dreamily. “I always like to imagine a world where there are no powers and I live on a farm with my significant other. That would be the best life, I think.” 

Siyeon wrinkled her nose. “You like farming?”

“Yes!” She set her controller down to clasp her hands together. “Imagine being away from everyone who’s ever wronged you. There’s no responsibility in the world except selling your crops and making sure your cows are well fed and healthy.” she sighed. “It would truly be the best life.” 

“I’ve always liked being in the city because of how many people there are,” Siyeon mused, rubbing her nose to check for blood, “But I can see the appeal. Kind of.” 

Chaewon nodded enthusiastically. “Do you wanna learn how to play the game?” she asked. Siyeon felt like she was babysitting a child instead of being supervised by a coworker, but she agreed nonetheless. 

Stardew Valley was a very boring game, but Siyeon couldn’t bring herself to speak her mind. 

Chaewon was the enigma of OSR, Siyeon decided. She was so powerful and held so many secrets that could make or break the agency, it was no surprise the girl was kept under lock and key. It honestly didn’t shock Siyeon that she had reached out to Pledis for comfort - after all, the heroes were under the strict rule to not interact with her. The rest of the staff probably had something similar.

A knock on the door interrupted her thoughts. 

“Siyeon, it’s past 5. You should’ve headed home by now.” Haseul poked her head in the door and gave a small wave. “Why does it smell so weird in here?”

“Pizza,” Chaewon gave a small wave. “Hi, Haseul.”

Siyeon looked at her phone. She hadn’t even realized how long she had been watching Chaewon play Stardew Valley. She had 5 missed calls and over 50 texts from her best friends asking her where she was. 

“I can’t believe the time went by so quickly,” she said as she stood up. She responded to the texts quickly and pocketed her phone. “Do you guys live far from here?”

Haseul and Chaewon exchanged a glance. 

“I live here,” Chaewon said passively, “But I can walk you to the lobby if you want.” 

Siyeon remembered her life as a trainee living on one of the floors at OSR. It wasn’t the most lavish of lives, and it slightly confused her as to why Kahi would put one of the agency’s best members in such a lacklustre home. “Sure.”

As they headed out, Chaewon made a small noise. “You should tell Kaeun about what we discovered today,” she said quietly, nudging Siyeon in the side. 

Haseul quirked an eyebrow. “Discovered?”

“I learned that I can kinda see images when I adhere to people’s brains,” Siyeon explained. “It’s a different type of adhering, though, so I think it will take a bit for me to master.”

The older woman hummed. “Kaeun may be able to figure out more tactics if you tell her.” she patted both of the younger girls on the back, much to Siyeon’s distaste. “I’m proud of you two for using your time wisely.”

Siyeon exchanged a look with Chaewon. “Yep.” was all she said, earning a snicker from Chaewon. 

The lobby was coated in the bright reds and oranges of the sunset, reflecting off the floor and nearly blinding Siyeon. Yewon was already waiting outside in her car, visibly rocking out to whatever was on the radio. Haseul said goodbye and headed out as well, waving to the sun hero as she passed. 

As Siyeon waved to Chaewon and headed for the door, she started to regret how she reacted earlier. Chaewon said she hadn’t told anyone else about her meeting and befriending the Pledis member. She trusted  _ her _ to hold that information. 

Siyeon thought back to how the girl had known the exact amount of times Nayoung had visited her and her mouth worked before her brain could. 

“Chaewon.”

“Ah! Yeah, Siyeon?” Chaewon looked over her shoulder. Siyeon wasted no time in walking back over and holding out her hand. 

“Gimme your phone.” was all she said. Chaewon obliged immediately, digging in her pocket and unlocking her phone. Once it was in Siyeon’s hand, she found the Contacts and added herself. She chose to ignore the fact that there were only three other people on her phone. 

“Text me whenever you want to talk,” she said as she placed the phone back in Chaewon’s hand. The girl looked stunned. “I’m not saying you should give up your  _ other  _ friend, but remember that there are people  _ here _ that think the same way you do.”

She looked like she was going to cry again. “Thank you, Siyeon. I appreciate this.” 

Siyeon waved a hand as she turned back around. “Yeah. Just don’t make me regret it.”

“I won’t! Have a good night!”


	8. Chapter 2 - Part 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frostbite - Zhou Jieqiong

Jieqiong could feel her patience wearing thin when she slammed the door open to Eunwoo’s office and found her and Wonyoung giggling like schoolgirls. 

“Ah, Jie!” Eunwoo covered Wonyoung’s mouth to stifle the girl’s laughter as Jieqiong walked into the room, observing the monitors hung on the walls. “You just missed the funniest thing-”

“Pull up Camera 335 on the screen.” Jieqiong ordered. Eunwoo stopped herself mid-sentence and exchanged a look with Wonyoung. 

“That’s the hall of the jail cells.” Eunwoo said, turning in her chair to face her completely. 

“I know.”

“We don’t usually turn the cameras on in the jail because Yerim likes to-”

“I don’t care.” Jieqiong grumbled. “There’s been a recent mishap that has come to my attention, and I must deal with it right away.”

Eunwoo’s expression shifted to one of confusion. Jieqiong saw through it right away. 

“What happened?” Eunwoo asked. 

“Another prisoner escaped.” Jieqiong paused for a second, looking at both of the girls’ still states. “I don’t see either of you pulling up Camera 335.” She said coldly.

She moved closer to the girls and purposefully loomed over Eunwoo’s assistant. Wonyoung seemed to jolt to life and scraped her chair along the floor to the computers, making a small frightened noise. 

Eunwoo was scowling. It wasn’t an uncommon sight these days, especially when directed at her or Yaebin. “Well, then. Hello to you, too.”

“Hi.” Jieqiong bit back quickly. 

“You left before Yaebin or I woke up today.”

“Yes, I did.”

“Why?” 

“Well, I was requested to come in early.” Jieqiong settled her ice-cold glare from the monitors to the pink-haired girl and ignored the way her heart clenched at the expression it caused. “I would prefer to discuss this while there aren’t others listening in, Eunwoo.” She added quietly.

Wonyoung was still clicking at different things on the computer, seeming to struggle a little. “I won’t remember anything you say, so I don’t mind.” The younger girl said, swivelling her head around for a moment to flash a smile. “I’ve learned to forget most things people tell me at the drop of a hat.”

Jieqiong was quick to retaliate, snapping, “Your opinion wasn’t needed. What is taking you so long, anyway?” She couldn’t afford to be nice after the sit down she just had with her boss. Han Sungsoo had made it very clear that they were to not make any more mistakes in the weeks leading up to the attack, and the situation they were in was the exact opposite of what they needed - no, the opposite of what  _ she  _ needed. 

“Don’t be a bitch to Wonyoung just because you’re in a bad mood,” Eunwoo stood up, her eyes clouded with an emotion Jieqiong couldn’t decipher. “Cut the shit. You’ve been like this all week. What’s wrong with you?”

She could feel her expression darken. “I’m always like this.” She was about to say  _ Han Sungsoo is what’s wrong,  _ but Wonyoung finally managed to pull up the screen, and her train of thought was lost. 

“There he is,” Wonyoung said, pointing a feeble finger to the figure before them. The corridor was completely empty, save for the man in the orange jumpsuit scrambling away from his cell. His feet left bloody prints on the concrete, and every few steps he would trip and fall on his face. 

Eunwoo made a noise. “Well, would you look at that?” She mused. Jieqiong gave her a distasteful side-eye and pulled out her phone to inform Yaebin. 

“That’s the, what, fifth time this month?” She said, eyes darting back and forth from her phone and the two girls. Yaebin responded with a vague answer about how pissed she was, but Jieqiong ignored the rest of the message.

“Sixth,” Eunwoo responded almost too quickly. She locked eyes with Jieqiong. 

“Wow. I really need to step up my game at watching the cameras, huh.” Wonyoung said softly, letting out a deep breath and leaning back in her seat. 

Jieqiong felt herself bristle. Her phone screen frosted over from her grip. 

It wasn’t like Pledis had zero defence to keep captives in - the entire building was heavily guarded, and the cameras were usually the last resort due to how good the security was. Whatever caused the guards to simply stop caring was beyond Jieqiong, but she couldn’t help but feel it had something to do with the two Intelligence Unit members. 

“Do you think this is a joke, Wonyoung?” She was trying her hardest to hold her tongue and to not simply resort to violence like she usually did, but she could feel herself slipping. “It’s like you’re not even trying. You too, Eunwoo.”

“I haven’t done anything,” Eunwoo said dully, cutting off whatever Wonyoung was about to say.

“Don’t try to lie to me.” Jieqiong faced her best friend fully and poked a finger at her chest. “You two are the only ones with access to the cameras most days. There is no way you wouldn’t be able to see men in bright orange jumpsuits escape from the building and take off down the street.”

“The first few times we weren’t even in the building. At least, I wasn’t.” Eunwoo pointed out hastily, her voice growing impatient. She grabbed Jieqiong’s hand and rather forcefully pulled it down to her side. “Besides, you and Yaebin caught and disposed of them all, anyway. None of them even had a chance to successfully escape.”

“I have better things to do than clean up after you. _ Especially  _ now that we have to- with the recent events that have come to my attention,” She said, flushing a bit at her near mess-up. Han Sungsoo had made it very clear that the plan was supposed to be top secret, and only the executives and other gang leaders were allowed intel. 

“I told Wonyoung. You can talk about it in front of her.” Eunwoo said flatly. 

“I don’t mind!” Wonyoung piped up - as if she couldn’t get on Jieqiong’s nerves more. “Boss really is going off the deep end, huh?” 

Jieqiong clenched her fists. 

“Executive meetings mean that  _ only _ the executives get to know what's discussed, not their assistants.” Wonyoung’s face looked utterly distraught, so she added, “I doubt Hitomi knows anything. I know for a fact Wonho doesn’t. Wonyoung isn’t an exception, especially considering her  _ condition _ .”

“What’s done is done.” Eunwoo was trying to play it off, but Jieqiong saw the way she swallowed and fidgeted. “Boss hasn’t met with me personally to talk about it, so you shouldn’t have a problem.”

Jieqiong sometimes found it laughable that Eunwoo was placed in charge of the Intelligence Unit in Pledis, but she would never tell that to anyone. “Yeah, except I  _ do _ have a problem with it, Eunwoo.” She ran a hand through her neatly placed hair, disheveling it and knotting the ends. “Every time you do something stupid like this, the only person that gets the wrath of our Boss is  _ me _ . That’s the main reason why Yaebin chooses to work out of town most days - she can’t stand to deal with his temper and I’m the only other one he goes to when he’s like that.” 

The tension in the room was thick. Eunwoo stared her down with a frown.

“Look. Even if it  _ was _ me, which it’s not,” Eunwoo’s eyes kept darting to the ground or the wall behind Jieqiong, anywhere  _ except  _ her own eyes, “He would never suspect me. He trusts me too much.” She stuck her nose up in the air as if to prove her point. 

Jieqiong briefly imagined her world before Pledis, one that was free of migraines and the intense urge to strangle her best friend. “I doubt that.” She grit out, her teeth clenched, “I don’t know if you just haven’t realized or are simply ignoring it, but he only keeps you here because of  _ Yaebin and I. _ There’s no way he trusts you after your stunt at OSR.”

Eunwoo stepped closer until their chests were almost touching, and Jieqiong could feel her breath fan on her cheeks. “If I’m such a  _ burden _ to you, why don’t you get rid of me?”

“It’s very tempting some days,” Jieqiong mumbled, her answer seeming to be the opposite of what Eunwoo was expecting. 

The girl opened her mouth to retaliate, but was cut off by a, “Wait. Did I hear that right?” Wonyoung had turned fully in her chair, unbeknownst to Jieqiong, and was watching the exchange with wide eyes. “Eunwoo, don’t tell me  _ you’re _ the one that failed their undercover mission at OSR?”

“I thought you said you weren’t going to listen,” Jieqiong said dryly, but the comment had caught her so off guard she lost her momentum and forgot what exactly she was angry about. Eunwoo let out an awkward chuckle, reaching to rub her neck as she took a step back. 

“I wouldn’t say I necessarily  _ failed _ , but… yeah.” 

“But…” Wonyoung shifted so she was leaning forward, back turned to the cameras. Jieqiong looked up briefly to see Yaebin booking it down the street in the corner of one of the monitors, moving so fast the only thing Jieqiong could recognize was her leather jacket. “I thought the person that fucked up the OSR mission was killed as soon as they got out of jail.” 

Eunwoo shook her head. “I was pretty much an executive already by the time I was sent out on the mission. Even though I was caught, I still managed to obtain a lot of information about the heroes and OSR, so Hang Sungsoo promoted me and told the rest of Pledis that I was a trusted family friend so it didn’t seem too weird for a random girl to become so high up in the ranks.” 

Wonyoung’s mouth made an ‘o’ shape. “I understand.” She paused, seeming to mull over the information. Jieqiong let out a sigh and grabbed a chair from the corner of the room, settling herself down as the younger villain spoke.

“But… Eunwoo,” Wonyoung leaned forward with interest, “You don’t  _ have  _ a power. How did they even let you in OSR in the first place?” 

Jieqiong snorted. Eunwoo reached over and hit her in the arm, sitting beside her. 

“I actually do have a power,” Eunwoo said quietly, “It’s just… not a lot of people know about it.”

Wonyoung’s features lit up. “Actually? What is it?”

Jieqiong thinned her lips out to stop the smile that threatened to show itself at the thought of Eunwoo’s power. The girl in question shifted in her seat. 

“Um, well…” Her face flushed pink.

“What? Is it that bad that you can’t tell me?” Wonyoung looked like a puppy, brown eyes wide with hope and excitement. The collar around her neck certainly didn’t help the image. Jieqiong eyed it distastefully. “Can you read people’s minds? Or change the weather like Boss can?”

Eunwoo looked like she wanted to disappear into the floor all of a sudden. “I can, uh… I can taste and see different emotions in humans and animals.” She looked at the ground, almost seeming ashamed. Jieqiong couldn’t blame her.

A pause. Then, Wonyoung let out a short screech of laughter.

“Are you serious?” She cackled, “How the hell did you get into a hero agency with that power?” Wonyoung squinted at Eunwoo through her laughter, seeming to process the information. 

“I didn’t,” Eunwoo grumbled, although the anger in her voice didn’t reach her eyes, “I told them I could form cysts inside bodies and that I wanted to use my power for good. They stuck me in the medical ward as the doctor’s assistant.” She cast a hand through her hair. “That’s how I got the name Diphtheria when I got out of jail - Jieqiong gave me that nickname as an inside joke between us and Yaebin and it stuck.” 

Jieqiong vividly remembered the times Eunwoo would come home from a day of work at OSR ranting and raving about how much Kahi got on her nerves. It was an entertaining part of her life, but at the same time she knew that it stressed Eunwoo out quite a lot. 

It surely didn’t help that Han Sungsoo had considered her undercover work a failure after all she had done. 

Wonyoung snorted. “ _ Diphtheria _ always sounded like a dumb villain name to me.” She paused for a moment, and then started to laugh again. “That’s fucking hilarious, dude.” 

Eunwoo’s face turned a shade darker than her hair, expression switching from one of distress to an outright embarrassed one. “Wonyoung, stop-”

The assistant shook her head as she giggled. The collar around her neck glinted in the minimal light, catching Jieqiong’s attention. Her breath caught in her throat, gazing at the metal contraption. 

Truth be told, Jieqiong felt a bit uncomfortable at the amount of information her friend was willingly giving to Wonyoung, but she wasn’t planning on doing anything to stop it. 

The collar had been one of the ‘conditions’ Han Sungsoo had when Eunwoo was accepted as an executive. The collar prevented Wonyoung from lying when talking with other members of Pledis, and if it detected any false truths the collar would electrocute her. It was his way of keeping tabs on Eunwoo - if she messed up in any way again, he would know of it as soon as he consulted Wonyoung. 

It was a wonder how the two of them got away with letting the prisoners go for so long. 

It put a bad taste in Jieqiong’s mouth that Wonyoung didn’t seem aware of the true reasoning behind the collar. Eunwoo often nagged at her and Yaebin for being too cruel, but she was just as bad as them. 

“Eunwoo.” She said, grabbing the girl’s attention. She pointedly looked at the collar that sat on the assistant’s neck. Eunwoo looked a little guilty and cursed under her breath. 

“Just so you know, Wonyoung…” She looked back and forth from Jieqiong to Wonyoung. Jieqiong only raised her eyebrows in response, not wanting to help her at all with the mistake she made. 

Eunwoo twiddled her thumbs like a child. “Not many people know about my power… actually, pretty much no one knows about it. Only the executives and Boss know about it.” 

Jieqiong frowned. “And Na-“

“So,” Eunwoo cut her off before she could continue, much to the latter’s distaste, “I would appreciate it if you tried to… you know… not talk about my power to others.”

“No problem,” Wonyoung said easily, her smile never faltering, “I’ve mastered the art of avoiding a topic I need to keep a secret. If not a lot of people know you have a power, it shouldn’t be hard to not bring it up.”

Eunwoo let out a loud exhale. “Yeah. Thanks.” She pulled out her phone then, looking at the messages on the screen with an intense look. “Oh. Jie, have you looked at your phone lately?” She asked. 

Jieqiong grabbed her phone. It was still frozen - quite literally. It had restarted while it was thawing, and now it was damp in her hand. “I, uh… it’s dead.” She said, pocketing it before the others could see. “What is it?”

“Han Sungsoo wants us in his office as soon as possible,” Eunwoo said with furrowed brows, not commenting on how Wonyoung went ‘uh-oh’. “Judging by the fact that he texted us instead of calling us on our burners, it must be important. You should- I mean, we should go.” 

Jieqiong resisted the urge to groan. She was supposed to go to Eunwoo’s office to take care of business and lessen the stress she had, but she found she was leaving with an even heavier burden and more questions. When she stood up, Eunwoo followed outside, mumbling something to her assistant about returning soon. 

Eunwoo grabbed Jieqiong’s wrist before she could take off down the hall. 

“Look, I’m sorry.” She said quietly, stepping forward to stare into her eyes. Jieqiong felt a little uncomfortable, glancing up to the camera above them that was angled right at the door. “I’ll try to… I don’t know. I’ll try to prevent this from happening more often.”

“You don’t need to  _ try _ to do it, Eunwoo. We absolutely cannot have another mishap like this.” Jieqiong muttered back, narrowing her eyes. She paused a moment before adding quietly, “I don’t know why you’re doing this, but not now. Not while he’s so high strung.”

Eunwoo looked uncomfortable. “I know. I’m sorry.” She stepped closer and wrapped her arms around Jieqiong’s neck. Jieqiong flinched at the contact and jerked her head away, but Eunwoo’s strong grip kept her in place. 

“Sorry won’t cut it when he orders us to kill you,” Jieqiong found herself speaking softly, leaning forward to rest her forehead against Eunwoo’s. She watched the girl’s eyelashes flutter and felt her heartbeat pick up. 

“This was the last time that happened. I promise.” Eunwoo gave a small smile and tilted her chin so she could kiss Jieqiong’s forehead. “I’m not going to the meeting, by the way. Tell him I have the shits or something.” 

The drastic change in mood made Jieqiong snort. “Afraid you’ll admit you’re the culprit?”

“No,” Eunwoo mumbled, “I just don’t want to snap at him and say something I’ll regret.” She took a shaky breath, tightening her grip on Jieqiong’s neck until she was pulled into a hug. “I really don’t want to fight them, Jie.”

She suspected she knew who she was talking about. “They’re the heroes and we’re the villains. We’re bound to fight her eventually.” She said, resting her hands on Eunwoo’s waist. 

“Not just her,” Eunwoo muttered, “Kyungwon and Minkyung, too.” She let out a loud sigh, her breath tickling Jieqiong’s ear. Then, she let go and stepped back. “Oh, well. I’ll get over it.” She reached up and smoothed out Jieqiong’s shoulder pads in her jacket. Jieqiong watched her every move like a hawk, listening to Eunwoo’s breathing and the beating of her own heart. 

“You know,” Jieqiong started, reaching out to catch Eunwoo’s hands as they dropped from her shoulders, “If you ever wanted to talk to us about what happened at OSR, we’re always here for you.”

Eunwoo’s eyes lit up. “What is this? Miss Zhou Jieqiong, willingly allowing someone to open up to her? I’ve never heard of such an occurrence before!”

“Shut up,” Jieqiong grumbled. Eunwoo laughed in response, squeezing her hands. 

“Don’t worry, though. I’ll sit you guys down when the time is right.” When Jieqiong opened her mouth to retort, she added, “I know I keep saying that, but… really. I just need more time.”

Jieqiong let out a quiet sigh. “It’s alright. I understand.” She dropped her hands then, giving a lousy wave as she turned down the hall. “I better get going. See you at home.”

“Bye!” Eunwoo called out. “Love y- I mean…”

Jieqiong’s only response was a bout of laughter so loud it shocked herself. 

  
  


When she finally got to Han Sungsoo’s office, a familiar face was outside the door, much to Jieqiong’s relief. The person’s back was turned, so she took it upon herself to approach them quietly and wrap her arms around their middle, scaring them in the process.

“You’re lucky I don’t burn you alive whenever you do that,” Yaebin muttered, turning in Jieqiong’s hold to give her an empty glare. Jieqiong smirked in response and let her friend go, taking a step back to give her a once over. Yaebin was dressed in her usual dark shirt and pants with her leather jacket over top, and the smell of bleach still wafted off of her - from when she dyed her hair the night before or from cleaning up kills, the reasoning was unknown. 

“You say that every time and yet it hasn’t happened.” She said back coolly. “Did you get rid of the escapee?” 

Yaebin let out a groan. “Yeah. Fuckin’ idiot screamed like a baby when I caught him.” She rolled her shoulders back, suddenly looking tense, “Eunwoo needs to stop letting them go.”

“I asked her about it and she kept denying that she took part in it,” Jieqiong said lowly, eyes darting from the door to the Boss’ room and back, “We’re all on thin ice as it is. We can’t afford another slip-up.”

“I know.” Yaebin sighed and cast a hand through her platinum hair. It was frizzy on the tips, and Jieqiong absentmindedly grabbed a strand and lightly tugged on the split ends. “Let’s hope this meeting goes quick. I want to have a bubble bath tonight.” 

Jieqiong was about to suggest something, but her face suddenly felt hot and she swallowed her words. “Yeah.” She jerked her chin to the door. “Let’s do this.”

  
  


There was always a chance that their boss wouldn’t remember he called them to his office. In those cases, Han Sungsoo would throw something sharp at the door, which the triplets always failed to catch. Jieqiong and Yaebin, however, were very used to this habit of his, so when four throwing knives were launched across the room at them, they caught them with ease. 

“It’s us, Boss.” Jieqiong said, feeling one of the blades slice a small part of her inner finger off. She took the other knives from Yaebin and moved to set them on the desk, bringing her finger up to suck at the wound. 

“I know it’s you,” Han Sungsoo snapped, having been pacing by the window the entire time without pausing, “I just like to keep you on your toes is all.”

“Uh-huh.” Yaebin stepped further into the room, shutting the door behind her. “Why did you call us in?” 

He stopped his walking momentarily to stare at the two of them. The minimal hair he had on his head was mussed, and his eyes held their usual insane look that made even Jieqiong anxious. 

“YG excused themselves from the plan,” He said with a growl, “No explanation. They’re done.”

Jieqiong couldn’t help the scoff that came out. “So soon? I thought they were your biggest fans-“

“Do you think this is funny?” Han Sungsoo looked a bit like a grown child throwing a temper tantrum, Jieqiong thought. If it weren’t for the fact that she would get beheaded if she commented on it, she would’ve said something. “All this does is put more pressure on you two. Now you have to find more gangs that are willing to give their lives to us.”

“That’s not our job,” Yaebin retorted, crossing her arms and ignoring the warning glance Jieqiong sent her way, “You’re always the one saying that we can’t meddle with recruiting. You failing this one time shouldn’t change that.”

Han Sungsoo looked like he wanted to throttle them both. “Sometimes I think you forget that I am the one who took you in and gave you a job. I am still your superior, even if you think you’re better than everyone else here.”

“Just because you think we owe you doesn’t mean our job description can change at the drop of a hat.” Yaebin was growing angrier by the second, and Jieqiong could see the tips of her fingers turning black because of it. 

Jieqiong felt her own usual annoyance disappear and replace itself with mild fear - Han Sungsoo was not one to argue with, especially when he was already upset to begin with. 

She agreed with Yaebin, though - recruiting mafioso members was an excruciating job that required patience - something both Yaebin and Jieqiong didn’t have - and most of the time it just caused problems with other gangs. If Han Sungsoo had tried to recruit as many people as possible and still showed up empty-handed, the plan would fail and the executives would be to blame. For the tiny shred of sanity she had left, she couldn’t let that happen. 

“I can change your  _ job description _ however I want, Kang.” The man was downright growling. “I didn’t see you complaining when I changed Jung’s title three times before I settled on one that fit her.” He paused briefly, “Speaking of which, I see she is not with us today.”

“Got the shits,” Jieqiong blurted out, choosing to ignore the way Yaebin pressed her lips together and let out a small snort. “I think Yerim slipped her some sour blood in her coffee again.” 

The man squinted his eyes at her, analyzing her. Jieqiong thanked whatever God there was that she was born with excellent lying skills, even if the situation was a laughable one. “I see.” He said flatly, “I must speak with One, then.” 

“I already did,” Yaebin jumped in, “Said it was an accident and it won’t happen again.”

“Good.” He let out a loud sigh and leaned back in his chair. “There’s also something else I wished to discuss with you two before the end of the week.”

“Which is?”

His eyes lit up, and he looked like an excited man-child again. It made Jieqiong sick. “I think it’s better if I just show you,” He said, getting up and moving to the water cooler. He filled a glass and moved back to the table, pushing it forward. “One of you. Drink this.”

Jieqiong met Yaebin’s eyes. 

“What is it?” Jieqiong asked. 

“It’s water, dumb bitch.” He snapped back. “If I wanted to poison you I would’ve already done so by now.”

Yaebin still hesitated, her arms still locked at her sides. Jieqiong rolled her eyes and grabbed the cup, downing it in one go. 

“Excellent.” Han Sungsoo said when the cup was slammed back down to the ground. “Now, we must wait five minutes.”

Jieqiong was unsettled. Yaebin seemed uncomfortable, too. 

“Uh… why, Boss?” She asked. 

“Bada said so.” He said as if it was the most obvious answer in the world. 

“Wh-  _ Bada _ ?” Jieqiong let out before she could stop herself. Yaebin let out a sigh. 

“If I recall correctly, she said five to ten minutes, Boss.” The fire wielder said. Han Sungsoo mimicked her voice and ignored her. Jieqiong, on the other hand, was very confused. 

“Hold up.” She held up a hand. “Bada as in the girl we kidnapped a while back? Why the hell would she have anything to do with-“

“You’re getting on my nerves.” Han Sungsoo mumbled, flexing his fingers. Jieqiong instantly shut herself up. “Whatever, it’s probably been long enough. Now I can demonstrate my findings.” 

He locked eyes with her and didn’t avert his gaze. Jieqiong resisted the urge to look away, knowing there was some sort of test he was putting her through. 

All of a sudden, she felt it. 

The tugging on her insides was the first telltale sign that something was wrong. Then, her chest jolted forward and made her head connect with the table from its momentum. Her organs felt like they were going to burst, and she tried to grip at her stomach but found she couldn’t move her limbs at all. Her right arm shot out from her side and made a circle in the air, although she didn’t have any feeling nor control over it. The sensation was terrifying, and it made her feel sick. 

Han Sungsoo let out a deep chuckle. “It’s working, I see. Good.”

“What are you doing?” Yaebin hissed, resting a hand on Jieqiong’s back for support. Jieqiong found her tongue couldn’t move properly as well, and she could only make a low gurgling noise. As soon as the initial terror ebbed away, pain shot through her stomach and into her arms. It was nearly unbearable, and she grit her teeth to hold back the groan of agony she was about to let out. 

“Messing with her blood, my dear.” He looked downright evil, his dark eyes shadowed by the light from behind him. Jieqiong focused on looking at the skyscrapers next to them, watching the elevators go up and down through the window and staring at the clouds to try and distract herself from the searing pain in her body. “Water takes five minutes to enter your bloodstream. I can manipulate water, of course, so once I had initial contact with the liquid I could maneuver around her bloodstream as soon as it was time.” He looked quite proud of himself, and Jieqiong wanted nothing more than to stab him. “It’s what she taught me.”

“You’re telling me a 17-year-old we held captive taught you how to manipulate blood?” 

“Yes, Kang. Do I need to spell everything out for you?” Han Sungsoo snapped, and when his eyes drifted he lost focus. Jieqiong felt all the muscles in her body relax at once and she slumped against the table, panting. Yaebin rubbed her back soothingly as she caught her breath and coughed from the remainder of pain still ebbing through her body. 

“I think this will work perfectly for my plan to overthrow Kahi.” He continued, standing up and beginning to pace again. Jieqiong rested her cheek against the cool table and closed her eyes. “My power combined with the executives should be enough for our defences, but adding on this extra technique and we will be unstoppable.”

Jieqiong felt her brain moving at the speed of light. Defence? 

“Wh-”

“You have no right to be developing this sort of  _ technique  _ this way _. _ ” Yaebin said before Jieqiong could say anything. The fiery girl stood up, putting her hands on her hips.

Han Sungsoo narrowed his eyes at her. He was challenging her. “What do you mean?”

“I  _ mean _ ,” From Jieqiong’s peripheral vision, she could see Yaebin huff out a flicker of flames. “Using one of your prized executives as a puppet isn’t how you should be going about this. We have hoards of mafioso for a reason.”

Their boss stared at them for a very long time. Jieqiong took the time to stretch out her fingers and roll her shoulders - it felt like all her nerves were shot. 

_ Now I know what it's like when I freeze someone’s nerve endings, I guess. _

Han Sungsoo snorted, leaned back and let out a chuckle. “I see what’s going on.” He folded his hands behind his head, looking down at them with a wicked expression. “You two are always talking about not developing friendships with others in order to stay diligent in your work,” He growled out, “How hypocritical of you.”

Jieqiong was slowly regaining the feeling in her body. She sat up slowly, moving to her feet. Yaebin was immediately behind her, placing a hand at the small of her back to steady her. 

“I don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about,” Yaebin hissed, “All I’m trying to do is look out for a fellow executive so we aren’t down to five again.”

Han Sungsoo didn’t seem impressed. “I see.” His eyes were dark, and it was hard for Jieqiong to tell whether he was going to yell or laugh. “I don’t have any more news for you. If you aren’t going to marvel at my findings then you might as well leave.”

Yaebin growled out something in response, but Jieqiong didn’t want to argue. She moved to her feet shakily, her brain slowly focusing and coming to the realization at what Han Sungsoo had just done.

Manipulate blood? What was he planning?

As soon as the door closed behind them, there was a loud smash as something broke from inside the office. Jieqiong jerked her body away from Yaebin’s touch, muttering out an “I’m fine” when she was regarded with caution. 

Jieqiong said nothing else as Yaebin led them back to Eunwoo’s office. She could feel herself shaking from fear and a little bit of anger, a mixture of emotions that never usually resulted in good things. She formed an icicle from her fingertips and pressed the sharp edge to her thumb, watching the blood pool as she walked. 

Something Jieqiong preferred to have in her life was control. Becoming an executive was one of her greatest achievements, and she cherished the title greatly. It gave her the freedom to move within the mafia as she pleased, and the only person she ever had to bow down to was Han Sungsoo. Yaebin and Eunwoo often teased and called her a control freak, and it was times like these that she realized they were right. 

She pressed down harder, and some of the blood dripped down her hand and onto the white floor. 

“Stop.” Yaebin’s voice brought her out of her thoughts, calm but loud. “I can hear you doing that. Stop it.” 

Jieqiong grumbled to herself, giving her friend a half-hearted glare before tossing the icicle over her shoulder and rubbing her thumb on her jeans. 

Eunwoo’s office was even louder than normal, and when Yaebin threw the doors open, she understood why. Hitomi, the triplet’s assistant, stood in the middle of the room, laughing and joking with Eunwoo and Wonyoung. 

As soon as the door was opened, the conversation stopped. Once again, Jieqiong couldn’t bring herself to care if she interrupted. 

“Out.” She demanded, voice cold. She ignored the way her voice shook. “Both of you.” 

Hitomi quickly scrambled to leave, pushing past the two executives as she fled the room. Wonyoung was the same, rushing to grab her bag and her water bottle before leaving. 

“I can’t fucking stand him anymore.” Jieqiong said as soon as the door was locked, swallowing the tears that were threatening to appear. She was just so  _ frustrated _ , and she knew there was little they could do to change any of the plans that were already in motion. 

“I can’t, either.” Yaebin said roughly, clenching her fists. Bursts of flames shot out from her nose, searing red hot and making Jieqiong wince. The sudden flames didn’t deter her anger, though. 

“What happened?” Eunwoo said, swivelling in her chair to look at them fully. Jieqiong started pacing in the small room, feeling the hole the icicle left in her thumb. It was good to finally feel in control, she thought. Even if it was for just a moment that she was under his power, it was terrifying. 

“He fucking manipulated my blood,” She spat out, clenching and unclenching her fists. Tiny shards of ice shot out from them, littering the floor like shattered glass. “He had me drink water and then he moved it from inside my bloodstream.”

Eunwoo looked quite disgusted. “That’s horrible.”

“No shit, it’s horrible.” Jieqiong snapped, running her hands through her hair. The ice coated her locks and held on, and in mere seconds it was like she had just stepped through a hail storm. 

“If he can do that to me with a small glass of water, imagine what he will be able to do once he develops that power further? Forget recruiting other gangs, he could probably take down an entire army with that sort of power.” She shook her head and felt an icicle hit her in the eyelid. “It’s probably why he wanted Bada on our side so badly. That kid must be powerful as hell.”

“He makes me so mad,” Yaebin says, resting her head against the wall. “He tells us to take on his main job as a boss and then proceeds to fuck with Jie’s body like that without any repercussions. He thinks we’re his dolls that he can just experiment on and manipulate, and I’m sick of it.”

Eunwoo was very quiet, Jieqiong noticed. She kept to the corner of the room while Yaebin continued to vent, and Jieqiong would pipe in with any extra angry comments. The entire time, Eunwoo was silent. 

It was after a few moments of staring that Jieqiong finally said, “Are you hiding something from us, Eunwoo?” 

Eunwoo was startled, jumping in her seat. She stared up at them with wide eyes. 

“I… not really.” She said at first, and then added, “Well, it doesn’t really count as hiding if there just hadn’t been an opportunity to bring it up, right?”

“What is it?” Jieqiong asked, turning to face her. Yaebin did the same, crossing her arms over her chest. As soon as they did so, however, Eunwoo let out a whine. 

“Can you guys not do that? It makes me feel like I’m a mafioso member you’re about to kill.” She grumbled. “I swear, you two are the most intimidating people on the planet when you want to be.”

Jieqiong struggled with letting her tense expression drop. “We’re trying to give you the benefit of the doubt and  _ not _ treat you like a mafioso, Eunwoo.”

“I know!” Eunwoo threw her hands in the air. “And I know I’m just putting more pressure on you two lately with how I’ve been acting, I just…” She paused to take a few deep breaths. Jieqiong felt guilty when she spotted tears budding in the girl’s eyes. “It’s been a weird few weeks. I don’t know how to cope with it.”

Yaebin dropped her arms and sat on the chair beside Eunwoo. Jieqiong followed, sitting on the other side of the pink-haired girl. 

“We know it’s been stressful. It’s new for all of us.” Yaebin said softly, reaching out to hold one of Eunwoo’s hands. The girl just shuddered in response. “But we’re trying to be as truthful as possible to you. At least, I am.” When Jieqiong nodded and added her own confirmation, she continued. “Just… please, tell us.” 

“Like I said before, Eunwoo, we’re here to help you.” Jieqiong said, leaning forward to rest her chin on the girl’s shoulder. 

Eunwoo let out a shaky breath, staring at her hands. Ever since she had gone to OSR, she had been… different. Quieter. More reserved. Jieqiong hated it. 

“Do…” Eunwoo looked like she was about to pass out. Jieqiong made her hand cold and pressed it to her forehead. “Thanks,” She said in passing. “Um, do you guys remember the one lone mafia member that’s also in OSR? The one that passes info back and forth between organizations?” 

“The Rabbit?” Yaebin said, and Jieqiong was mildly wowed by the girl’s memory. 

“Yeah.” Eunwoo fumbled with Yaebin’s hand, smoothing out the skin and playing with her thumb. “So, the triplets and I have been talking, and we kinda decided to… consult… her.” She said, speaking slowly. Jieqiong squinted at the ground.

“What does that mean?” She asked. Eunwoo took a deep breath. 

“It means we as executives are willingly letting her interfere with the plan in case she knows any way to sabotage it.” She said. “Because that’s what she does. At least, that’s what her business card says.”

“Do you know which member of OSR it is?” Jieqiong asked. 

Eunwoo shook her head. “She keeps it a secret. Although, if you looked at the list of heroes, I feel like it’s pretty obvious who it is.” 

Jieqiong thought about that. There were only 10 heroes, so it wasn’t hard to pinpoint who Eunwoo was talking about.

“Couldn’t that just be a diversion? What if it’s a member of OSR that isn’t a hero and is just using a rabbit as a red herring?” She asked, pressing her lips into a thin line.

Eunwoo and Yaebin seemed to think about it for a bit before nodding, their heads moving as if they were connected to the same brain.

“Not many people know of her presence, so it’s hard to say. She only does business between OSR and Pledis, I think. I haven’t heard of her interacting with YG or SM or any other gang.” Eunwoo looked like she wanted to say something, but stopped herself. 

“Why didn’t you tell us earlier?” Jieqiong said quietly. 

There was a pause where all she could hear was Yaebin and Eunwoo’s breathing, and then, “You’ve both been stressed out because of him… and I didn’t want to make things worse by saying, ‘Hey, I’m thinking of hiring someone to kill our boss instead of have you follow through with his plans!’.” 

Quiet, forced chuckles filled the room. Jieqiong felt uncomfortable. She wasn’t sure where her loyalty lay when it came to her boss or The Rabbit.

“Will you guys…” Eunwoo’s voice was barely above a whisper. “Will you help us?”

Jieqiong narrowed her eyes. Leaving Pledis in the hands of someone they didn’t even know the identity of was a bit unsettling. On the other hand, leaving Eunwoo to manage the plan along with the triplets was just as worrisome. 

“I don’t know.” Yaebin said. “I don’t…” She let out a loud exhale, and from it came a bolt of flames. “I don’t want to put all my faith in someone that I don’t trust.”

“ _ I  _ trust her.” Eunwoo said bitterly. “Don’t you trust  _ me _ ?”

“No, no! I do!” Yaebin backtracked. “I just don’t know what The Rabbit’s ulterior motives are. Helping the executives in killing their boss? They must want something from us in return.” 

Eunwoo shrugged. “I don’t know.”

“Well, until you know,” Jieqiong said, removing her body from Eunwoo’s side, “I won’t stand by you.”

Maybe she could have worded that a little nicer or just not said anything at all, because Eunwoo looked devastated. It probably didn’t help that Yaebin agreed, standing up as if to prove her point. 

“We aren’t doing this just to spite you, Eunwoo. At least… I’m not.” Yaebin said with a glance to Jieqiong. “It’s just easier to side with Boss when you’re giving us such a big job as... you know…. killing him.” 

Eunwoo’s mouth flattened. “I see.” She said, standing up. “I guess that’s where we differ in opinions, then.” 

Jieqiong locked eyes with her friend and saw her own emotions reflected back at her; cold, calculating, and closed off. Where she usually saw love and kindness in Eunwoo’s eyes, there was a void, and she realized that things between the three of them wouldn’t be the same until something changed within Pledis.


	9. Chapter 2 - Part 4

Nayoung was learning that she couldn’t stand any of the new heroes - especially Yewon.

Perhaps it was because they both had earth-related powers. Maybe it was because the kid was so damn hyper all the time. Regardless, Nayoung couldn’t stand her even more than the other girls (this included Siyeon, which was saying a lot.)

That's why she found herself pushing the new girl a little too hard - out of sheer childishness.

“I need you to focus,” she said to the girl, stretching her shoulders as she glared at her. Sweat dripped down the back of her neck, staining her uniform and making her damp. Her combat boots were dusty from deconstructing and rebuilding the concrete all morning.

Yewon didn’t look any better. Her face was bright red, cheeks puffing as she tried to get more air in her lungs. Her vines wrapped around her arms, trickling from her fingertips to her hairline. A leaf swatted at her forehead and caught a few beads of sweat.

“I  _ am _ focusing,” the girl huffed, putting her hands on her knees for support. “Even with the sun helping me, I don’t know if I’ve got any energy left, Nayoung.”

Nayoung’s eyebrow twitched. “We’re on duty. Call me by my hero name,” she replied without a second thought. “And my job as your supervisor is to make sure you push yourself as hard as you can while under my watch.”

Nayoung could tell the drain Yewon received from training all day seemed to put a damper on her mood. Nayoung felt similarly - Yewon was very powerful, and there was no doubting her place as a hero in OSR. Trying to push the girl to develop new techniques and work on her abilities was proving to be a challenge.

“Okay,” the younger girl blew her bangs out around her face, some strands sticking in chunks. “Let’s try one more time.”

“That’s the spirit,” Nayoung said dryly.

Yewon’s eyes flashed with weak determination. Nayoung took a step back, allowing the girl to make the first move.

The plant hero took a deep breath and rooted her feet deep in the ground, breaking the concrete around her. Nayoung was quick to react and gathered the chunks around Yewon’s feet, summoning them with a flick of her wrist.

Before the cement could reach Nayoung, Yewon shot a hand out, and vines sprung from her grasp. Nayoung’s vision was quickly filled with green as the leaves covered her eyes and dulled her senses.

“You’re using the same technique as the last eight attempts,” Nayoung spoke, her mouth quickly filling with leaves. She spit them out, and then said, “Try harder.”

Even with her head surrounded by foliage, she was able to use her powers effortlessly. She flicked her wrist again and the concrete chunks whirled around her in a funnel cloud fashion. The vines ripped away, and she could see again.

Yewon was struggling to hold onto the few vines that weren’t ripped from her. More vines sprouted from her fingertips and swept above her head, forming a net. Nayoung paused to watch it, mildly mesmerized by the seamless weaving.

“Can’t you do that faster?” She asked distantly.

Yewon let out a whine. “You told me to try new things. This is me trying!” she said exasperatedly, and then shot the net at Nayoung. It approached her fast, but Nayoung was faster.

The older hero took a few steps back to cushion the blow and lifted her hand again, grabbing the concrete to form her own net.

Her net covered Yewon’s, overpowering it in mere seconds and sinking it into the ground. Yewon was struggling, clenching her teeth and digging her heels into the ground.

After a few seconds of Yewon struggling and Nayoung holding her hand still to keep her creation in place, the younger girl gave up.

Nayoung sighed and moved to their nearby cooler, grabbing a few bottles of water for both of them. Yewon pressed the bottle to her forehead and heaved a weak “Thanks,”. Nayoung grunted a response and left to go sit on the cooler, downing most of her water in one gulp.

A moment passed where all she could hear was Yewon’s heavy breathing and the chattering of passersby on the street. She lifted her head and made eye contact with a stranger, who quickly skittered away.

She was mildly grateful for the privacy the two of them had while training - even if it was minimal. Nayoung had made the clearing for training back when she started as a hero. It was a few minutes away from the OSR agency, tucked away beside a series of shops and banks. Every now and then, civilians would stop outside of the clearing and watch, their phones out in case something exciting were to happen.

“I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to do that,” Yewon said.

Nayoung’s attention jolted from her deep thoughts to the present time. “Do what?”

“Push through concrete. My vines are strong, but I don’t think they’re strong enough to even make a dent.”

Nayoung kicked a foot out, inspecting the sole of her boot.

“You’re not putting in enough effort to try and think of other ways,” she said flatly. “Nothing about a combat scene is ever going to be that black and white.” She stretched both legs out and winced as her muscles protested. “You have to find a middle ground.”

Yewon was star-fished out on the cleaner part of the ground as she tried to soak up the sun. Nayoung swore she could  _ see _ the rays sinking into her, although she excused it as her imagination.

“I could  _ literally _ go around it. Or I could go underground.” the girl mused, sitting up, “But I would need to have much more energy than I do right now.”

“What a novel idea,” Nayoung said dryly.

“I could try now, but…” Yewon raised a hand. Little sprouts crept out of her fingertips but quickly dropped back against her palm. Yewon followed with the motion of the plants, plopping back on the ground. “My limbs feel like algae.”

Nayoung rolled her eyes and stood up. Glancing at her phone, she said, “Well, it’s already 5, and I’m feeling nice, so let’s call it a day.”

Yewon sat up. “Nice,” she said, a large yawn following.

“Not before,” Nayoung added quickly before the girl could get her hopes up, “We clean this mess up.”

It took them an almost saddening amount of time to clean the rocks and stray plants up. Nayoung discovered that Yewon’s vines were mainly poison ivy, which reared its itchy head minutes into tidying.

Thankfully, Yewon could also heal such a thing with her powers, so all it ended up doing was pissing Nayoung off a reasonable amount.

It was when they finally grabbed their bags and the cooler that they saw something amiss. Or, well, heard it.

There was a small strangled shout, and a group of five or six teens came running up to the clearing, eyes wide.

“My friend!” one started.

“This dude came outta nowhere-” another yelled.

“Gravestone, you gotta help!” a third cried.

Nayoung steeled herself immediately, holding up a hand to stop them. “Which way?” is all she asked. The kids pointed in a direction down the streets, and she dropped her bags, turning to Yewon to give orders--

\-- When she wasn’t there.

“Wh-” Nayoung glanced over her shoulder into the clearing, and then down the street. She caught a glimpse of green disappearing down the direction the teens pointed, and she cursed at herself for being slow.

“You stay here,” she said in passing to the teens before she took off, following Yewon’s leaves that managed to be one step ahead of her at all times.

By the time she got to the scene, Yewon already had three men tangled in vines. A crowd had formed outside of a nearby bank, trampling on the broken glass of the windows as they rushed to get their phones out. Yewon was standing over a man who was bleeding all over the sidewalk.

Nayoung pushed away anyone in her path and made it to Yewon. “What’s going on?” she asked, the question in the air but more so directed to her coworker.

“These guys tried to rob that bank, it looks like,” Yewon said, her voice regaining its usual lilt when she was around civilians. “The dude on the sidewalk got in the way.”

The man on the floor groaned in response. Nayoung pulled out her phone and called the hospital, crouching down to inspect the wounds.

She tried her hardest to focus on one thing at a time instead of taking on the entire situation at once. She stood and let civilians who had been present come up to her and give them witness reports. Yewon dealt with the robbers, who could barely stand on their own without the vines.

The teenagers from before approached after their friend was sent in an ambulance to the nearest hospital. They asked for photos with her and Yewon, who both obliged.

It was all the same. The routine was the same. Making sure all witnesses were safe and then sending Kahi a report on her phone of what happened. Even if the attack was different, the actions were all the same.

It made Nayoung feel like she was in a constant, never-ending loop. She hated it.

She stood back and watched as Yewon eagerly cleaned up the scene, using her branches and vines to sweep the street of any glass and rubble.

One would assume, she thought, that life as a hero would mean new experiences every day. That was the case for her first few months on the job, sure, but it quickly dulled out. Even with Eunwoo infiltrating OSR and then the kidnapping of Bada, the months seemed to blur together.

Yewon finished with the cleaning. She jogged to join Nayoung, and together they made their way back to OSR.

“I’m glad that went smoothly in the end!” Yewon said as soon as they were out of earshot of the civilians. “I worried I wouldn’t get there in time to get them all.”

Nayoung side-eyed her. Yewon’s cheeks were pink from smiling, and her eyes looked wired. Had she not been present for training, she would have thought the girl had just drank six espresso shots.

“Where did you get all this energy?” she asked, frowning.

Yewon grinned and simply said, “Hold your hand out.” They paused at a stoplight, and Nayoung obliged.

Vines sprouted from the girl’s fingertips and wrapped themselves around Nayoung’s wrist. She flinched away, but Yewon’s grip held her still.

“It’s not going to hurt,” Yewon said with a giggle. Nayoung glared at her but didn’t say anything in response.

A small thorn poked itself into her vein on her wrist. Nayoung let out a small gasp as what felt like liquid adrenaline poured into her arm. It was warm, and it spread to the rest of her body rapidly. She got the sensation that she was sitting under the sun, and her energy came back slightly.

“That’s a part of my power,” Yewon said after a moment, retracting the thorn and her vines. “I can give and take energy.” She started to cross the street and added, “Feels pretty cool, huh?”

Nayoung wasn’t sure how to respond. How did she not know that about Yewon?

_ You also didn't know her vines are made of poison ivy, Nayoung. You don't know anything about her power. _

“Does Kaeun know?” She said, using her long legs to match the girl’s pace.

“She’s the ‘secretary’, right?” Yewon used air quotation marks and laughed. “The one that has to drink blood to get info, right? She knows. I think Kahi does, too.”

Nayoung stayed silent, which prompted the other girl to continue.

“I don’t like advertising that part of my power too much. It’s not that big of a deal if people know, but…” She locked her hands behind her head. “I prefer it when people only know the good things about my power. It makes it easier for me to stay on everyone’s good sides.”

Nayoung could argue that it was important to be as honest as possible to the general public to avoid mishaps later on. She learned that lesson the hard way, and she was still paying the price. Sometimes that was what it took for young people like Yewon to learn not to bend the rules.

For God’s sake, what the fuck is she doing? Trying to sabotage her coworker?

_ Are you sure you’re a hero? _

“Tell the public,” Nayoung blurted out before she could think it through some more. “It’ll hurt your career less if you’re honest with them now.”

Yewon faltered in her steps. “I mean… it’s not like I can kill someone or anything. I didn’t think it was  _ that  _ big of a deal.”

“How are you so sure you can’t kill?” Nayoung said, her words coming out harsher than she wanted.

“I haven’t tried.” Her voice was starting to turn flat, and Nayoung realized she was starting to  _ annoy  _ her. How? By saying she could kill someone with her power? It was a harsh reality they all had to face someday.

“Sometimes you don’t have to  _ try _ to succeed.” Nayoung snapped back, upping her pace so she was a step ahead of Yewon. " _ Sometimes _ it just  _ happens _ ."

Her heart was beating so loudly she almost didn’t hear the girl’s response, almost didn’t hear the way she stopped walking and was letting Nayoung walk farther and farther ahead.

“Is that how you used your second power?” The girl asked. “Was it an accident?”

They were, in Nayoung’s mind, perhaps a few feet away from each other, but it felt like miles. As soon as the words left Yewon’s mouth, she pushed away from reality and into a different world.

Truth be told, Nayoung barely remembers that day. One of her first solo jobs was to patrol the busy downtown streets. Nayoung was capable, sure, but putting her right in front of Seoul Times Square Mall was a bit much. Regardless, she obliged.

She heard over the radio that there was a hostage situation at the mall. She had been called by Kahi to completely avoid the area - she was still new to the job, and there were  _ actual _ police that would handle it.

Regardless, she wanted to help. She  _ knew _ she needed to. Call it a hero’s instinct.

Arriving at the scene had been nothing short of overwhelming. A dozen men in masks with varying explosive powers had been in the center of the main floor, each trying to corral the cops out of the area with shotguns.

The policeman that had talked to her and asked her to leave had blue eyes. That much she remembers clearly.

Speaking to Nayoung had alerted one of the assailants. He had directed his gun at her and fired.

From then on it was a blur.

Being in the direct line of a bullet did something to her brain, and she activated her power. The one she had done so well with since the day she accidentally killed a squirrel in her backyard. The one she had promised would never see the light of day.

Bottling it up for years on end had made it more powerful, though. Its sheer force knocked everyone down, killing most.

That was only one part of the power though, and as soon as Nayoung stood up, everyone else did as well.

It had been the first time Nayoung’s second power had been used on a human - and quite a few, at that.

They weren’t the same as they were when they were fully alive. They attacked her, bringing her back down to the ground.

Nayoung had lashed out as quickly as she could, using what energy she had left to try and deal with the problem she had caused.

Killing all those zombie-like civilians -  _ all those completely innocent people _ \- was something she would never forget.

She vividly remembered smashing a rock against one particular zombie, one that stared up at her as the light left his eyes. The bright blue shade still visits her in her dreams sometimes.

“Nayoung.”

Yewon was standing in front of her, squinting at her like she was a bright screen in the early morning.

“I’m sorry.” She said, taking a step away when Nayoung jolted her head backwards. “I shouldn’t have asked. I know that’s a sensitive topic.”

“It’s not.” Nayoung responded quickly, although her mouth was dry. She hated being  _ sensitive _ about something.

“So then why-”

“It doesn’t matter.” Nayoung went back to her old mantra. “It’s over with. I’ve already dealt with the consequences. I don’t want to speak about it again.” She flexed her fingers and heard a few pebbles scatter behind her. “Let’s get to the agency before it’s dark.”

Yewon didn’t speak for the rest of the walk, thankfully.

She let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding in as soon as the girl hopped in her car and was out of sight. Her heart felt like it was going to beat out of her chest from the sheer anxiety of thinking about the  _ incident _ again. That was, what, the second time this month?

_ Two times too many. _

Regardless, she shook off the feeling and persevered, opening the doors to the agency.

The sun was still in the sky but most people had left the building already. Those who remained were Chaewon, who Nayoung gave a nod to, and Heejin, who averted her eyes and didn’t say a word.

Nayoung wanted Minkyung or Kyungwon to consult the rabbit hero and ask if she was alright. Heroes often had rough patches, but this one had been going on all week for Heejin. She would ask the girl herself, but she was afraid she would just make things worse.

She was good at the physical support side of the hero business. The emotional support side… not so much.

The streets were still buzzing with the last minute dinner rush as she left the building, locking the gigantic glass doors behind her.

As a hero, it was very difficult to let her guard down. She was constantly on edge, hands twitching with anticipation as if she was to be ambushed at any time. A few past assassination attempts and more than one good beating would do that to a person, though.

Still, Nayoung let her mind wander a little. She deserved it, she thought. It had been a pretty rough week. Still, she kept her hands out of her pockets, thumbs brushing the seams, as she started her dreaded walk home.

Ever since the new heroes had officially become heroes, Nayoung had not seen a day of peace at the office. Granted, when Heejin, Jinsoul, and Jiwoo were new, there was a similar situation, but this time it felt different.

The four new heroes, the youngest ones OSR has ever seen, were  _ different _ .

Siyeon was abrasive and rude, but she still did her job in keeping others safe and put most of her energy into defeating as many bad guys as she could.

Sungyeon had grown a lot colder since she had first started training, but Yewon seemed to warm her up. The half-mutant seemed closed off whenever Nayoung tried to talk to her, but she couldn’t blame the girl - Nayoung was, after all, not a talker. Sungyeon didn’t seem to be either.

Kyla was quiet, but her dedication and sheer strength were unmatched. She was good with the people, and had already developed a reputation among the civilians as the peacekeeper. Minkyung had been very impressed when she caught wind of the nickname.

Yewon… Yewon could grow plants from her hands.

Nayoung looked down at the right time and nearly tripped on a crack in the sidewalk, doing a little jump to avoid it.

_ Don’t be mean, _ Nayoung scolded herself,  _ Yewon is much more than that. You even told yourself so earlier today. _

Still, her loud mouth and bright spirit made it much harder for Nayoung to see the good in the girl’s abilities, much less even want to be around her. She had dreaded the past week, and it seemed to be only by sheer luck that the days passed faster than she had thought.

She was about to zone back out again when loud music came roaring around the corner of the street. She paused mid-sidewalk, ignoring the scoff a couple behind her made at her abrupt stop.

A car was coming down the nearly empty street, girly kpop music blaring from the open windows. High pitched laughter sounded from the vehicle, and Nayoung remembered with a wince how much she despised teenagers.

“Nayoung!” The driver said, stopping in the middle of the road to give a wave. Nayoung squinted in the fleeting daylight to look at the person and realized with a sense of dread that it was Yewon.

The plant hero gave a grand wave and quickly pulled into a parking spot right in front of where Nayoung stood. The music was turned down to a near whisper, but it still made Nayoung’s headache. Sungyeon sat in the passenger seat, wings tucked neatly behind her, and what appeared to be Siyeon and Bada were in the back.

“What are the odds we see you so soon after leaving work?” Yewon asked, jumping out of the car to greet her. She seemed a lot happier than the Yewon that had left the agency parking lot less than an hour ago.

“The agency isn’t very far from here,” was all Nayoung’s mouth decided to spew.

“True,” Yewon let out a hearty laugh. “Hey, we were just on our way to go to a restaurant for drinks. You know, celebrate the week being over. Plus, Bada just turned 19, so we can all drink without worrying about being carded.” She added the last part in a slightly hushed voice, but it didn’t do much justice. Her voice was naturally loud, and Nayoung figured that even if she was trying to be quiet it simply wouldn’t work.

She didn’t have to think about the offer too much. She was six years older than Bada, the youngest - the age gap wasn’t too big, but it was big enough she didn’t feel comfortable sharing drinks with them.

“I’ll pass, thanks,” She said, brain working quick to find an excuse, “I always get recognized when I go out. I don’t want to ruin your guys’ fun.”

“Nonsense,” Yewon waved a hand, her grin so bright it was blinding, “We’ve done this tons of times before. We just have to pretend we’re attending a business meeting instead of going out as a group of friends. I even have suit jackets in my car for backup. It works every time.”

Nayoung raised an eyebrow and cursed mentally. The word ‘friends’ echoed around in her head until it lost meaning.

Even if she could barely stand the group of girls, she hadn’t been invited out in forever. She only ever went out with Minkyung and Kyungwon, but she got the feeling they were starting to feel embarrassed whenever she was around them.

“Well… Okay then.” She said, earning an excited giggle and clap from Yewon.

“Hop in, hag.” She said, jumping back into the driver’s seat.

And hop in Nayoung did.

The drive to the restaurant was, to say the least, very chaotic. Sungyeon was seated in the passenger seat and kept changing the songs on the aux, and Bada repeatedly made comments whenever she did so. Siyeon was a bit quiet, and every now and then would loudly request that they lower the volume due to her concussion. Nayoung didn’t blame her - the music was extremely loud, and she could barely hear herself think.

By the time Yewon parked outside of the restaurant, the sun had fully set and the streets were lit up in their usual shades of yellow and white. Workers and families milled around, closing up their shops and leaving for the night.

Even though the streets were emptying, the restaurant was quite full. Yewon tossed the suit jackets around for them to put on before they left the car, and Nayoung was utterly grateful. The staring and muttering that ensued as soon as the five of them entered the dining area was almost too much, even for her.

The girls ordered their food and drinks, and Nayoung resisted a scoff when Bada nearly threw her driver’s license at the waitress to show she was of age.

“You didn’t have to show it to them, you know,” Sungyeon said from beside Nayoung. They were seated in a booth, with Siyeon, Yewon, and Bada on the other side. “You only have to show ID if they ask you.”

“Is that a rule?” Bada said with wide eyes. “I didn’t know that.”

Nayoung felt pressured to add something into the conversation, so she said, “It’s not. It’s just tiring to pull your license out every time you go out if most waitresses won’t ID you.”

Bada looked a little taken aback by the older girl’s addition to the conversation. Nayoung felt awkward.

“I don’t look that old, do I?” Bada turned to Yewon, who shook her head and laughed. “I don’t think I’m going to be going out that much, anyway, so I don’t mind!” The youngest smiled gently at Nayoung.

The laughter quickly died down and was replaced with silence. Nayoung shifted awkwardly in her seat. Gradually, all the kids took out their phones and fiddled with them.

“What did you guys do today?” Yewon asked, her voice bringing everyone’s attention from their phones.

"I trained with Heejin today," Bada said after a moment of quiet, "We practiced combat and...stuff."

"Is she okay?" Sungyeon asked suddenly, shifting in her seat. "She seems so sad lately."

Bada shrugged. "I dunno. I didn't really think to ask."

Sungyeon brought up her and Minkyung's many adventures, including a moment during the day where Minkyung used her powers to propel Sungyeon across the city.

"I  _ thought _ I saw a rainbow plane flying close to the skyscrapers downtown," Yewon joked.

Yewon kept the conversation going and filled the girls in on her and Nayoung's day. She seemed intent on making both her and Nayoung seem very tough, even during their moment of weakness on the way back to the agency.

_ It was your moment of weakness, not hers. Don't get it twisted. _

As soon as she thought that, she looked at Siyeon, who hadn't spoken the entire time. The last time she had been around the girl this long she had her skull cracked open.

Siyeon was staring across the table at Nayoung, arms crossed. She seemed to be thinking of the same thing.

“I don’t get why you invited her here,” she said, pointing an accusatory finger at Yewon. “I feel like I can’t say anything without being assessed. This is basically like inviting a cop to a party.”

"Siyeon!"

Nayoung frowned. “I’m sorry you feel that way,” she said dryly, “I thought you had gotten over that impression of me after I saved your life."

"You hardly saved anything," Siyeon hissed, "All you did was call other people over to do your job for you."

"Sorry, I wasn't aware you wanted me to let you bleed out and die." Nayoung snapped, "Next time your head is cracked open like an egg I'll let you handle it yourself."

"That's the exact opposite of what I'm trying to say."

"What are you trying to say, then?" Nayoung leaned forward, eyes narrowing. They locked eyes and said nothing.

The waitress brought their food over. A beer was placed in front of Nayoung. She broke her gaze from Siyeon's and took a large gulp of her drink.

Yewon and Bada immediately dove into their shared plate of wings, barely able to keep up the conversation with their mouths full of food.

“Okay,” Yewon nearly slammed her hands down in her food, much to Bada’s shock, “Nayoung, I have a very important question for you.”

“Yewon, if you're gonna ask her what I think you're gonna ask, don't," Sungyeon grumbled.

“If you didn’t have powers and heroes weren’t needed, what would you want to do with your life?” Yewon leaned forward with a focused look on her face.

Nayoung blinked. She had never thought about that before. Her powers had been pretty much the only constant in her life, so getting rid of them and thinking about a world without them was… weird.

“I don’t know.” She admitted. “What would you have liked to do?”

“I would be a zookeeper!” Bada said, her cheeks flushing at her loud tone. “I love going to those rehabilitation zoos.”

“I can vouch for that,” Siyeon said blandly. Bada reached over Yewon and hit her shoulder.

“I would have liked to be a florist,” Yewon said dreamily. “Imagine tending to all those flowers and brightening up everyone’s day… it would be a dream come true.”

“You brighten up everyone’s day anyway,” Sungyeon mumbled although Yewon didn’t seem to hear.

“Siyeon wants to be an actress, although she would never admit it,” Yewon added.

“Hey, I’m right here-”

“Does that give you any ideas?” Yewon leaned back a little and gave Nayoung a bright smile.

The four girl's eyes were on her. She felt pressured, obviously, but she would be lying if she said nothing came to mind.

“Architecture has always intrigued me.” She said after a moment of thinking. "Maybe that's what I would like to have done."

“Ha!” Sungyeon sat up straight. “So my dream job isn’t too far-fetched!”

“Nayoung’s makes sense, though.” Siyeon pointed out. “She’s basically a heroic architect.”

Nayoung ignored that odd title and looked at Sungyeon. “What’s your dream job?”

"It's  _ so _ unexpected." Yewon pointed out before Sungyeon could even say anything.

The half-mutant's round cheeks turned pink. “Law.” Sungyeon mumbled. “I wanted to be a lawyer when I was younger.”

Nayoung couldn’t help the snort that left her.

"Hey!" Sungyeon protested. "It isn't  _ that  _ weird!"

"No, it's a very admirable job," Siyeon pointed out, "But imagining Bird Brain as a lawyer is priceless."

" _ I _ think she would do great." Bada said, earning a high-five from Sungyeon.

It was an awfully teenager-esque conversation, but Nayoung couldn't help but enjoy herself a little. The girls were funny, keeping their wits about them even after a hard week of work.

Nayoung let out a small chuckle, and then stopped herself. She was lowering her guard.

She remembered where she was,  _ who  _ she was. For a moment, she was simply an adult having a drink with…  _ friends. _ As much as she wanted that, she was still a hero even when technically off duty. And she was glad she remembered so at that given moment, because something caught her eye.

People were whispering. The nearby tables were all engaged in their own conversations, but every now and then they would cast a wary gaze over at Nayoung’s table. At first she assumed they were talking about her, which wasn’t a problem - she had dealt with enough harassment to last five lifetimes - but she was wrong.

They were talking about Siyeon.

The table behind them, specifically. They weren’t trying to be quiet about it, either. It made Nayoung tense up.

“She scares me,” one of the customers was saying, “I’m afraid to think the wrong thing without feeling like she’s going to be listening in.”

“So why are you saying it out loud, then?” another spoke, laughing.

“Because if she snaps she’ll take all of us instead of just me.” the other had raised the volume in their voice and let out a giggle. Nayoung looked over at Siyeon and was positive she could hear as well - the girl was stiff, eyes focused on her plate of fries.

“OSR made a mistake hiring her,” the person continued. “I swear, if another situation like the  _ mall murder _ happens because of Kahi’s carelessness…”

Nayoung took a deep breath. Then another one.

And she stood up and looked the two customers - two girls that were probably the same age as Yewon and Sungyeon - in the eyes.

“I’m going to be frank with you.” Nayoung said evenly. “OSR is what keeps most people alive today. Without heroes, there wouldn’t be a good or bad side - it would all be ruled by organizations like Pledis. Is that what you want?”

One of the girls stood up. “Maybe that’s what’s best.” She said, eyes narrowing. “The way OSR tries to keep all of us in line, who knows - maybe Pledis  _ is _ better, we just don’t know yet.”

“I beg to differ.” Bada said very quietly. Nayoung chanced a look back over her shoulder at the girl, and saw tears in her eyes.

“Pardon me if this is rude,” Nayoung said in a low tone to the strangers, “But have you ever personally dealt with a member of Pledis?”

The two girls exchanged an uneasy look at Nayoung’s tone of voice. She could tell what they were thinking, but she had her own emotions under control - relatively.

“No.” The one girl said.

“Then you have no right to look me in the eyes and tell me that  _ Pledis _ is a better company than OSR by any means.” Nayoung silently noticed that the entire area around them were watching the scene intently. “They steal, cheat, and lie their way into recruiting gullible people like you, and they use you until they think you have no further purpose.”

One of the girls stepped so close Nayoung could see the individual strands of hair on her head.

“How are you so positive that’s what they do?” She said. “For a company that says they have no affiliation with  _ villains,  _ you sure know a lot about the ins and outs of Pledis.”

_ Shit. _

Of course, the one time Nayoung gets fed up and tries to stand up for her coworker, she ends up revealing that she knows more about Pledis than she lets on.

_ This is your fault, Eunwoo. _

Beside her, Sungyeon stood up. “I think we should leave.” She said in Nayoung’s ear. Nayoung broke her gaze from the girl in front of her and looked at the bird mutant, nodding mutely.

“I think so too,” a nearby waitress walked by, her hands on her hips. “If you’re going to cause trouble in our restaurant, you are not welcome here.”

Sungyeon threw her hands up defensively. "I'm not gonna argue with that. Let's go."

A few people at nearby tables quickly looked back to their own food and drinks when the other girls stood. The two strangers sat back down at their table, looking awfully pleased with themselves.

Nayoung looked back to them as they left. Something looked  _ terribly _ familiar about the one that had gotten up in her face, but she wasn’t sure where from. It made an unsettling feeling in her gut (or maybe that was just the beer she downed before they left their table).

They all filed out of the restaurant quietly. Siyeon led the way, and didn’t say anything until they were all seated in the car.

“I’m so sick of this,” She said, although there was no menace to her tone, “I can’t go anywhere without feeling like a villain.”

_ Welcome to the club, _ Nayoung thought fleetingly, but held her tongue.

“It’s just what comes with being a hero, I guess.” Sungyeon sighed and leaned back in the passenger seat, her one wing nearly hanging out the window. “I think that’s just what comes with having such a strong power. I’m sure Bada will get the same response when she becomes a hero.”

Bada was quiet. Nayoung shifted in her seat and let out a huff.

“Thank you for standing up for us.” The youngest said from beside Nayoung. “Even if it didn’t go the way you wanted it to, it still… it still means a lot.”

Siyeon stared out the window with her arms crossed. Nayoung didn’t want to look at her.

Yewon clapped her hands together loudly and started up the car. "Well, I guess we better get going home, then." She said.

Sungyeon unbuckled her seat belt and got out of the car. "I'm going to go fly around for a bit to cool my jets." She said. "Siyeon, you can get in the front seat if you'd like."

Siyeon mumbled something in reply and got out of the car, jumping in the passenger seat. Sungyeon quickly spread her wings and took off, vertically shooting through the sky. 

Aside from Yewon trying to make conversation with Bada, the car ride back to the agency was silent. They dropped the trainee off back at the agency, where the girl was staying for her training.

Once they were pulled out of the parking lot and were starting down the road again, Yewon asked, “When do you think she’s going to become a hero?”

The question was in the air, but the way Siyeon glanced over her shoulder at Nayoung, she knew it was aimed at her. 

“That’s not something I determine.” She said slowly. “It’s also up to Bada.”

“Whenever she feels comfortable enough to be speaking to the public as a leader.” Siyeon mumbled. Nayoung felt the old awkwardness sink in, and even though music was playing she felt the quietness consume her.

“I don’t want to drop you off at home when we’re having so much fun still.” Yewon asked out of the blue at a stoplight. She would have thought the girl was joking, but her tone held nothing but genuineness. “Do you wanna hit up McDonald’s instead?” Nayoung glanced at her out of the corner of her eye.

“That’s not very healthy,” She said. Yewon laughed, and Siyeon snorted.

  
  
“Also, didn’t you just eat the majority of those wings back at the restaurant?” The latter added. 

“What can I say? I need food to photosynthesize.” The girl replied and stepped on the gas. 

Nayoung rolled her eyes and relaxed in the back seat a little more. “I’m not sure that’s how that works, but okay.”


	10. Chapter 3 - Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Salem - Bae Sungyeon

Sungyeon couldn’t stop thinking about the previous Friday. 

The day went well for the most part. It was just the last hours, the time where Nayoung literally stood up for Siyeon and partially ruined her reputation, that really stuck out for her. Even with her very limited experience as a hero, that was one of the only times she had witnessed any of her coworkers actually try and talk back to someone. 

The number one hero was put on probation. Not only because she outwardly challenged a harmless citizen, but because she talked about Pledis outside of OSR territory. Apparently Kahi thought that was a big problem, so the woman was sent home for the week. 

On top of that, Kyla had a family emergency in America that required her to return home immediately. She had left behind her a very brief farewell note, which still put Sungyeon in a bad mood when she thought about it. 

With the oldest and youngest hero gone, Siyeon still partially out of commission, and Heejin being…  _ Heejin _ , OSR was in a bit of a rough patch. 

Which is probably why, at the company meeting Monday morning, no one seemed super eager to participate in the conversation.

Sungyeon looked at the people around her. Only the active heroes were allowed in on the meeting, so the attendance was small. 

Kyungwon and Jiwoo were sitting side by side, sharing the same extra-large mug of coffee (or what Sungyeon could only hope was coffee). Minkyung sat closest to Kahi, jotting down notes in a book with the most attentiveness she’d ever witnessed. Heejin was slumped forward in her seat beside Sungyeon, and although her eyes were open she didn’t seem fully awake. Jinsoul and Yewon were seated across from her, and every now and then she would catch her best friend’s eye and exchange an awkward grin. 

Kahi cleared her throat loudly, and everyone sat up straight. 

“In case anyone wasn’t paying attention for the last five minutes,” She said, and Sungyeon wasn’t sure if her words were directed towards her or just to everyone in the room, “But we need a team of two or three to go out to this location.”

Everyone exchanged quick glances, save for Minkyung. The wind hero nodded curtly and said, “I would love to volunteer, but unfortunately I must follow up on a rescue situation that took place over the weekend. If it were not for that, I would have loved to go.”

Sungyeon wasn’t sure if everyone else was just failing to also speak up, or if they had as much of a clue about the situation at hand as she did. Everyone was avoiding Kahi’s eyes as she accepted Minkyung’s excuse and looked to the others. 

Obviously no one was willing to take the fall for admitting the lot of them weren’t paying attention, so she took it upon herself to do so. “What was the location again?” 

Kahi directed her calculating gaze to her. Sungyeon felt like her feathers were ruffled the wrong way. 

“We have received a hint from a trusted outside source that there is a warehouse that has information on the local gangs and Pledis.” She pinched the bridge of her nose. “This could be very important to OSR, so it’s detrimental that you focus from now on, Sungyeon.”

She felt her face flush a little. “Right. Sorry.” 

If her boss could roll her eyes without seeming unprofessional, she was sure she would. “Look, I don’t care which one of you go, I just need a few of you to go and tell me if there is anything there.”

Sungyeon locked eyes with Kyungwon, and she knew instantly what the girl was thinking. 

“I’m with Sungyeon for the week, right?” The shifter said, flashing a toothy grin. “We’ll go.”

_ Curse you, wolf lady. _

Even though she tried to pay attention, Sungyeon felt herself drifting in and out of focus for the rest of the meeting. It wasn’t until Heejin poked her in the side and stood that she even realized it was over. 

“I zone out, too, but make sure you at least listen to her every now and then.” The girl said in a low voice as they were leaving the office. “It makes it easier to get out of trouble, then.”

Sungyeon blinked. “Thanks, I guess?”

“Mhm.” Heejin reached up and stretched one of her ears out in front of her, expression blank. “I’m gonna go guzzle a few pots of coffee.” She said to no one in particular, retreating to the staff room quickly. 

Sungyeon watched her go, a frown settling on her features, remaining quiet even when she heard someone approach her from behind. 

“She’s an odd duck.” Kyungwon’s voice came from over her shoulder. “Do you think other rabbits drink as much caffeine as she does?”   
  


Sungyeon turned around and looked the hero up and down. She was dressed in her usual loose pants and a tight shirt, topped with a leather jacket. Sungyeon scrunched her nose at the thought of possibly wearing something similar.

“She doesn’t seem like the type to get hyper over coffee.” She said. 

“Not anymore. She used to be, though.” Kyungwon looked like she wanted to say something else but hesitated, her eyes glued to the staff room door. “Wanna head out?” Is what she said instead. 

Sungyeon sighed and cast a hand through her long hair. She had decided to bleach it over the weekend, and she was starting to regret it - the ends were very fried. “Sure. Do we know where this warehouse is?”

Kyungwon produced a map from her pocket. “Kahi was telling us in the meeting - although I should’ve assumed you also didn’t hear that part, too.” The girl gave a wicked grin, one of her fangs peeking from her lips. Sungyeon tried not to stare. 

“As if you weren’t staring off into space, too.” She sighed and made her way to the elevator, her coworker following close behind. “You all owe me for taking one for the team, by the way.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Kyungwon said, but her tone of voice made Sungyeon think otherwise. “Besides, no one asked you to out yourself for being a dumbass.”

“Hey now,” Sungyeon said with a warning tone as the elevator descended downwards. No one seemed to want to join them this time, which was a relief in itself - she hated being in cramped places. “I was just looking out for you all. What if she called on you to take the assignment and you had no clue where you were going?”

“That wouldn’t have happened, because I was actually paying attention.” Kyungwon chuckled. “Although that sounds like something that would happen to Jiwoo. She always has the worst luck in meetings.”

Sungyeon hadn’t had the time to get to know the other heroes well - the ones that weren’t The Big Three, at least - so this was news to her. 

“Jiwoo always seems very put together.”

Kyungwon let out a hearty laugh at that, shocking Sungyeon at the loud noise.

  
“I think she likes to give off that impression, sure.” As she spoke, little ears poked out from the locks of the girl’s hair, but as quick as they appeared, they were gone. “She’s got quite a lot of strong personality traits, but attentiveness is not one of them.”

They headed outside, waving at Yunjin at the front desk as they went. 

“You sound like you two are close,” Sungyeon said slowly, letting Kyungwon lead the way into the parking lot. 

“Kind of,” Kyungwon said with a shrug. “She was a fan of me when I first had my debut as a hero, and I’m the reason why she accepted the invitation to train here, so I’ve gotten to know her better than the others in her group.” She approached her vehicle and put her hands on her hips. “Well, here we are.”

Sungyeon cursed at herself as she came to a stop. She forgot Kyungwon rode a motorcycle to work. 

“So…” 

Kyungwon patted the seat with a small smirk. “It’s big enough for both of us, don’t worry.” 

Sungyeon eyed the motorcycle with distaste. 

“Why can’t I just fly behind you?” She asked, narrowing her eyes at the sight of two helmets. 

“I drive pretty fast. Plus, it will make you look cool.” Kyungwon was already grabbing the one helmet, strapping it under her chin. 

“I  _ fly  _ pretty fast.” Sungyeon pointed out but begrudgingly grabbed the other helmet anyways. 

Kyungwon threw a leg over her motorcycle and raised an eyebrow. “Do you fly to work every day?”

“No.”

“Then how is this any different?” The look on her face told Sungyeon she knew she had won the argument. When she didn’t reply, Kyungwon laughed and said, “Just get on the motorcycle, Sungyeon.”

Even though she  _ hated _ being on bikes of any sort, Sungyeon would be lying if she said it wasn’t …  _ interesting. _ Watching the city go by underneath her was one of her favourite pastimes, but zooming through the streets while also being level with other humans was a new experience. 

She still didn’t love it, though.

“Why a motorcycle?” She grumbled in the girl’s ear, tightening her grip on her waist. “You seem like the type to drive a shitty truck, not this monstrosity.”

“You sound like Siyeon,” Kyungwon said, her voice whipping around them in the wind. Sungyeon rolled her eyes and chose not to reply. 

As they drove across the city, they tried to hold a conversation whenever they had to stop at a light. It was a new experience Sungyeon added to her belt, and she even spread her wings at one point, only to furl them back against her back as quickly as she could due to the harsh angles the bike was taking. 

Kyungwon seemed to have as much fun as Sungyeon was having, although she wasn’t sure why that shocked her. The more she thought about it, the more she realized she knew next to nothing about the wolf mutant. 

Nayoung and Minkyung were both much more mysterious, sure, but they were open books at the same time. Nayoung had a dark past and had a lot of mental turmoil, but she still prioritized other people’s well beings and put before herself in every situation. Sungyeon had seen that first hand at the restaurant. 

Minkyung was quiet but strict and took the mother role in OSR even without explicitly claiming it. Everyone looked up to her, even if she was a bit of a pain in the ass sometimes, and even Sungyeon found herself holding onto the woman’s every word at times. The previous week, when she had been under her supervision, was relaxing but eye-opening at the same time. She felt cared for and appreciated, feelings she rarely had nowadays. 

Kyungwon always seemed like a very open person, but even though Sungyeon tried to dig and get more from her, she realized she was learning next to nothing. Kyungwon would reveal something about herself, but even when Sungyeon would think about it later, she would realize she hadn’t actually given anything away and had instead formed more questions. She was as mysterious as they come. 

Why she was like that, Sungyeon had no clue. 

“I have an important question for you,” Kyungwon said as the motorcycle came to a stop outside the warehouse. It was definitely on the outskirts of the city, that much Sungyeon knew for sure. It was surrounded by nothing but trees as far as the eye could see. The path to the building was down a winding dirt road, so Kyungwon had to park her bike a few metres back.

“What is it?” Sungyeon said as she hopped off. Her wings immediately stretched out as if they had a mind of their own. 

“If we’re part animal…” Kyungwon seemed to take her time in both getting off her bike and getting to the point. “Does that mean we’re furries?”

Sungyeon stared at her for a second. “No.”   
  


“But- now hold on, I’ve been thinking about this a lot-”

“I can tell.”   
  


“Furries have fursuits, right?” Kyungwon leaned her bike against a tree all the while speaking at a mile a minute. “We don’t technically have those, but we have certain aspects of our respective animals that actual furries would want. Aren’t we kind of like...  _ accidentally  _ furries?”

Sungyeon crossed her arms. She held back a laugh at the fact that she found herself getting  _ defensive _ . “I only have wings and talons. I’m not that one that can actually turn into a wolf  _ and _ a werewolf.” 

“Yeah, but-”

“I do  _ not _ want to have this conversation.” Sungyeon tried to snap, although her tone was light. Kyungwon laughed. “I’ve already been asked this question thousands of times by my friends and random people on the street.”

The conversation dulled to a halt as they walked down the path. The warehouse was spooky, that was for sure. It loomed over the treetops, casting a shadow on the ground and making the area permanently dark. Windows on the ground floor were boarded up or smashed completely. The only thing that remained intact was the door, which looked a bit out of place - it was relatively new, with a fancy door handle to boot. A beaten-down path trailed from the overgrown doormat around the side of the building, trailing farther than Sungyeon’s vision could see. 

“It looks like someone was just here.” She said to Kyungwon, looking over her shoulder to the girl. 

Kyungwon’s expression was so serious it slightly surprised her. She stepped forward and put her hand gingerly on the door handle. The door swung open unceremoniously, revealing the first floor of the warehouse. It appeared to be empty. 

Sungyeon frowned as a gust of air blew from the warehouse into her face. It smelled metallic with a hint of bleach. 

This wasn’t going to be good. 

“Well, alright then.” Kyungwon sighed. “I need to heighten my senses if we’re to do this smartly.” The girl said. She handed Sungyeon her leather jacket and stepped back from the door, stretching her neck from side to side. 

“Look away, please,” Kyungwon said with a goofy smile. Sungyeon realized with a jolt what she was going to do and flushed, looking straight at the ground with wide eyes. 

Sungyeon wasn’t sure if she was lucky or unlucky that she could see Kyungwon’s shadow cast against the wall. Bones crunched and twisted, and she wrinkled her nose as she watched the shadow turn from a human into something much smaller. 

She waited in silence for a few moments before she turned back around. A large wolf stood in Kyungwon’s place, eyes reflecting silver in the minimal sunlight. The wolf’s lip curled up in an awfully terrifying grin to reveal a set of sharp fangs. 

It wasn’t the first time she had witnessed her wolf form, but it was still jarring. “Okay then.” She breathed. “Let’s do this.”

She led the way into the warehouse, the heels of her sandals clicking on the ground. A second-floor loomed off to the side in a loft style, and she could see closed doors off in the distance. Kyungwon swept forward, her nose on the ground. 

At the far end of the warehouse, a desk and a few cabinets sat eerily in the corner. A small lamp sat beside it, its light flickering on and off. It was far away, but it sent a chill down her spine nonetheless. 

“Do you want to look upstairs while I-”

Kyungwon threw her fluffy head around to give Sungyeon a cold look before she padded away to the desk, her tail swishing as she walked. 

Sungyeon stared after her for a second. “Okay, then.” She mumbled, unfurling her wings from her back. She propelled herself upwards. “I guess  _ I  _ will check upstairs.” 

Doors lined the second floor, leading off into what Sungyeon could only assume were offices. She tried a few of the doorknobs, frowning when she realized that they were all locked. They didn’t even have windows she could peek into. 

“This is not going to be a waste of my time,” she mumbled to herself as she reached the last door, “This  _ will not _ be a waste of my time.”

The only area open, she noticed, was a room at the end of the floor. It was tucked away in the corner, and it was so dark she almost didn’t see it. Her gut instinct told her to not go look, and so she hesitated. 

Really, what did Kahi send them to the warehouse for? Why was she so dead set on finding information about Pledis? From what she had been told, Kahi wanted nothing to do with the organization and thought it best that heroes kept their distance. 

Sungyeon winced at the reminder. Sure, she  _ had  _ tried to keep her distance. That was until Bada was kidnapped. And now it was  _ her  _ fault that she and the others in her group had to be kept under supervision by their coworkers.

_ Suck it up, Sungyeon. There’s nothing you can do about it now. _

She looked over the railing and spotted Kyungwon pulling open cabinets with her paws and snuffling through them. Gathering up her courage, she pushed back and headed into the open room, unfurling her wings just in case she had to make a quick getaway. 

Something else she hated about the warehouse, she noted, was how  _ quiet  _ it was. Aside from the small snorts Kyungwon was making, there was  _ no sound _ whatsoever. The walls seemed to block out any noise of the outside world, even with the front door wide open. It made the hairs on her arms stand. Even though the building was open and spacious, Sungyeon felt claustrophobic. 

In the small room, she grappled at the wall for any sort of switch. Once the light was turned on, it became apparent it was a breakroom of some sort. A mini kitchen area was tucked in the corner, and tables and chairs were sat in the center. The bleach scent was especially strong as soon as she stepped in the room, and she had to pause as a headache started to form. Who could have meetings in such a horrible stench? 

When she felt well enough to move again, she searched the kitchen area. The sink was empty and clean, the cupboards were empty, and the stove looked like it had never been used. It was the fridge, however, that really took her aback. 

The fridge was full of bags of blood. Some were pushed all the way to the back, squished in the corners, stuffed in the drawers. The entire fridge was red, and the colour illuminated off the walls and onto Sungyeon’s face. She felt like she was going to be sick. 

Testing the waters, she reached out and poked the nearest bag, one that had “AB” scribbled on it in marker. Even in the quite-chilly fridge, the plastic was warm.

Sungyeon felt all the colour drain from her face. 

Without thinking about it further, she slammed the door shut and turned tail, ready to bolt out of the room. 

_ Someone was just here, I need to tell Kyungwon-- _

She almost disappeared into her thoughts once more, but she was glad she didn’t, because she would’ve missed the hand that appeared out of nowhere and blocked the exit. 

“What are you doing here?” 

A girl was standing mere inches from her face. Sungyeon couldn’t help the small yelp that left her mouth, jumping back in her startle. Her arms came up defensively, stretching her wings out if she had to propel the new guest off the railing with as much power as she could muster in the small area.

“Relax. I’m not going to attack you.” The girl said. Sungyeon stared at her, mouth agape.

“Who are you?” She asked, lowering her arms but keeping her wings out, flexing her back muscles as she stepped back more. She was being cornered, but oddly enough, she didn’t feel threatened. The girl looked quite feeble, although she had underestimated others before. 

“I should be asking you the same thing.” The girl raised an eyebrow. “You’re the one trespassing onto private property.”

Sungyeon twitched. “As heroes under OSR, we have the right to infiltrate and search any area in South Korea without a warrant and without question.” She said, reciting what Nayoung had told her to say at the beginning of the month. Too quickly, she realized she had given away she was a hero. 

The girl narrowed her eyes. “I see. So what are you doing here?” She repeated, taking a step forward. She was  _ in _ the room, Sungyeon realized. Had she been there the entire time?   
  


She took another step back, and she did so until her back pressed against the cold fridge. 

“We were told by anonymous sources that there was information about our enemies in this warehouse.” She said, clearing her throat so her voice came out a lot more authoritative. “It is our duty to thoroughly investigate and-”

“ _ Thoroughly investigate _ .” The girl laughed. “I watched your coworker toss a whole stack of documents off the desk downstairs with her big-ass paws. Is that ‘ _ thoroughly investigating’ _ ?”

Sungyeon wanted to say that no, that is probably not, but she felt like siding with this strange girl would come to bite her in the ass later on. 

“I’m Salem,” She said instead of responding to the question, lifting her chin. “Now I’ve introduced myself fully. Who are you?”

The girl met her gaze evenly. “Two.” She said.

Sungyeon blinked once. Twice. Then, “Like… like the number?”

Two’s eye twitched. “ _ Yes _ , like the number.” She crossed her arms. 

“Is that your  _ actual _ name?” Sungyeon couldn’t help but ask. She wasn’t sure if she was stalling or just genuinely curious. 

“No. What are you, dumb? Is  _ your  _ real name Salem?”

“Well, no-”

“It’s an alias, idiot.” Two uncrossed her arms, and then crossed them again. She looked anxious. “Look, if you’re gonna continue asking weird questions, can you at least move out of the way of the fridge? I need in there.”

For some reason, there was no real malice behind the girl’s words. At the back of her mind, Sungyeon struggled to remember if anyone from OSR had mentioned someone named Two and if they were a part of a gang of some sort. She came up empty handed. 

“Why?” She asked. 

“I’m doing a favour for a friend.” Two looked over Sungyeon’s shoulder to the fridge. “You didn’t tip it, did you? The blood can spill pretty easily if you’re not careful, and I saw the way you slammed the door.”

Behind Two, a tuft of fur slid into view in the doorframe. Then, a whole head. Kyungwon watched silently with her eyes narrowed into tiny slits. 

Sungyeon watched the wolf emerge fully, blocking the exit fully with her stature. She opened her mouth and closed it again, unsure how to respond to Two. 

Two followed her line of sight and turned around. Instantly, Kyungwon attacked, letting out a snarl as she charged forward. The strange girl yelled in surprise and dodged the sharp claws of the wolf, nearly missing one. To Sungyeon’s surprise, Two retaliated, pulling a metal rod from her jacket pocket and using it to strike Kyungwon. 

It was a very loud and aggressive battle. Every time Kyungwon swiped with her claws, Two dodged quickly and defended with her weapon, moving around at the speed of light. Sungyeon kept her back pressed against the fridge, suddenly not caring that her wings were very uncomfortable. 

Deciding the best time to avoid the line of combat was that very moment, Sungyeon looked for the next window to dive through the door. When the two fighting were back in a corner, she bolted, reaching for her phone to call Minkyung for backup. It was when she rounded the corner, however, that she nearly ran into yet another stranger. 

A hand shot out to steady her, latching onto her shoulder. She was so close to them she couldn’t even see their face, and when she stepped back and opened her mouth to apologize, she froze. 

Long dark locks of hair framed a very delicate and thin face. She was dressed delicately, in a dark cloak and red high heels, with bright red lips to match. None of that scared Sungyeon, though. It was the eyes that made her heart drop with realization - the eyes of a cold-hearted killer. Those same eyes that stared at her in every Wanted section of OSR. 

“Frostbite.” She breathed out. 

The villain looked her up and down. “A hero.” She stated. “What are you doing here?”

She had never heard the woman speak before, and it sent shivers down her spine. It was like she had grabbed a hold of her throat and squeezed. 

“I could ask you the same thing,” Sungyeon said, but it sounded more like a whimper than anything. 

Frostbite glared her down. They were around the same height, but Sungyeon felt like an ant.

“Are you scared?” She asked, and when she chuckled a puff of frost left her red lips. “I’m not going to hurt you if you don’t want me to.”

Somehow, Sungyeon felt like that was a lie. She opened her mouth to reply, but the woman slinked past her into the breakroom. In there, Kyungwon and Two were still battling, although they seemed to be moving a lot slower than before. 

“That’s enough.” Frostbite demanded, and when she spoke, Two immediately halted, as if paralyzed. Kyungwon managed to get one last swipe before she backed down, gouging the girl’s cheek and slicing along her jawline. 

Two recoiled with a hiss, reaching up to cradle her cheek. Sungyeon raised her wings in the air, ready to attack, but found that she couldn’t. Ice had formed its way around her wings and had cemented them together, weighing them down like they were made of cement. Frostbite gave her a side glance, her fingers twitching.

“I don’t want this to turn into a brawl,” the woman said cooly, “And this is one of the only times I don’t want to rip you two heroes to shreds, so can we talk for just a moment?”

Kyungwon let out a low growl and sat back on her haunches. She walked across the room to Sungyeon, who stared down at her awkwardly. The wolf hero left the room, and she could hear the girl’s claws tap as she walked down the stairs. 

“Where is she going?” Two asked, her hands dripping with blood. She had a wad of paper towel pressed to the wound, desperately dabbing the area to no avail. 

“To transform back, I presume.” Frostbite said before Sungyeon could answer. They stood there in silence, the only sound being the small whimpers of pain that Two let out as she nursed her injury. 

In mere moments, Kyungwon was back, stuffing her arms through her jacket and running a hand through her hair. She looked rough - bruises littered her jawline and face, and a deep cut lay above her eyebrow. 

“Good, the mutt’s here.” Frostbite said in a sickly sweet voice. “Now, I do believe we have a misunderstanding.” 

“You’re going to have to elaborate.” Kyungwon huffed, settling a glare on Two. Sungyeon felt a little bad for the stranger, but stayed silent and instead moved to stand closer to her coworker. 

“I think,” Frostbite said after a moment, her words coming out slow and calculated, “That someone tipped us off as well.” She gestured to Two and herself. “Our boss told us that we were supposed to protect this place in case anyone tried to infiltrate it today.”

“Which was weird, because no one knows about this place except a few select people.” Two mumbled, spitting a wad of blood on the floor. Frostbite wrinkled her nose at it, and for a second, Sungyeon thought she might hit Two, but the woman looked away. 

The air was thick. Sungyeon gulped. 

“I think I know who did this,” Frostbite said after a moment, her icy eyes surveying the room. “There’s a good chance she may still be here in the warehouse.” She turned to Kyungwon and gave a chilling smile, one that held no real happiness. “Care to look with me?”

“No thanks.” Kyungwon replied just as coldly, clenching her jaw. “You’ve given me no reason to trust you, especially after all you’ve done to OSR and our heroes.”

“Please, that was all when I was working,” The villain waved her hand, and a chorus of snowflakes followed her motion. “Now, I’m simply a concerned member of society.”

“ _ Member of society. _ ” Two let out a giggle. Sungyeon darted her eyes back and forth from the two villains, tense. 

Kyungwon glared at the others, and turned to Sungyeon. They made eye contact for what seemed like hours. Sungyeon could tell what she was trying to convey:  _ she  _ was going to decide whether or not they trust them. She was testing her. 

_ Way to put all the pressure on me, wolf lady. _

The biggest thing that set villains aside from heroes was self defense. Villains had the permission to kill, heroes did not. There was a possibility Sungyeon and Kyungwon wouldn’t make it out of the warehouse in one piece, let alone alive. 

As much as that was true, something was tugging at her brain about the strange girls - Two specifically. Something about her made Sungyeon  _ want  _ to trust her. 

So she said, “If you’re going with Beowoof, I’m going with Two, and the four of us search together.” 

Frostbite narrowed her eyes and seemed to think about the offer for a second, almost seeming to hesitate before she said, “Very well. It shouldn’t take long - after all, there are only ten offices.” She pulled a small key from her pocket. 

Two let go of her face with one hand to pat her pocket. “I’ve got one, too,” she said, although as to why she stated that, Sungyeon was unsure. “Let’s go, Bird Brain.”

Sungyeon winced at the nickname. Only Siyeon was allowed to call her that. “Alright.”

Once Two finished plastering a new paper towel to her face, the two of them set off down the aisle. Frostbite and Kyungwon had gone into the closest door, and when Sungyeon tried the handle, it was locked. 

“Leave them be,” Two said, patting Sungyeon’s shoulder so casually it spooked her, “They’re probably old friends or something.” 

Sungyeon would disagree, but she reminded herself that she knew next to nothing about Kyungwon, so she couldn’t say for sure if she was right or not. What if Kyungwon was working with the villains? 

The thought of having a traitor in OSR made her head swim. No, she had to stop thinking like that. She trusted her coworkers - her  _ friends _ . Even Nayoung, who she was very unsure of up until a few days prior, was a friend. She had to rely on all of them. 

“I know who Jieqiong is talking about,” Two continued, jolting Sungyeon out of her thoughts again, “and her office is the second last one. So let’s check there first.”

“Jieqiong?” Sungyeon followed the girl, giving one last glance at the door Kyungwon disappeared behind. 

“Frostbite’s actual name.” Two waved her hand. “Now that we’re getting all buddy-buddy, my name’s Hyejoo. Not many people know that, though.”

Sungyeon felt almost honored, and before she could stop herself, she said, “I’m Sungyeon.”

“I know.” Hyejoo said. “We have files on all the OSR heroes.” 

Something about Hyejoo made Sungyeon feel at home - it was like she was talking to Siyeon. It was kind of fitting, too, because Siyeon was also very injured at the moment. “Why did you act like you didn’t know me when I first saw you, then?”

“For shits and giggles.” Hyejoo said with a shrug. A smile crept to her lips, and then she grimaced and held her cheek. “This hurts like a bitch. You need to get your dog declawed.”

Sungyeon glared at her. “She’s not  _ my dog _ .”

“The way she was protecting you, it sure seemed like it.”

They approached the door. Hyejoo slid the tiny key in the lock, jostling with it a few times. 

“I think she was just doing her job as a hero.” Sungyeon said with a snort. “Don’t you have friends that would protect you? Isn’t that what friends do?”

Hyejoo paused to think about that for a moment, putting a finger to her chin. 

“I don’t have friends.” She said after a moment, and then pushed open the door without any warning. “Housekeeping.”

Sungyeon followed into the room. It was a tiny office, only big enough for a desk and a few chairs. An open window blew a fresh breeze in behind the desk, although it was blocked by the figure that sat behind it. 

They were wearing a rabbit mask - one of those weirdly realistic ones. Its red eyes bore into Sungyeon’s soul, and she felt like if she stared for too long she would be cursed or something of the sort. The person was wearing a big jacket that made their shoulders look square, and Sungyeon wasn’t sure if it was comical or frightening. 

Sungyeon could only stare for so long. When Hyejoo walked in, there was silence, but when Sungyeon came into view, the person jumped to their feet. They immediately moved to the window, sticking a leg up to jump out of it. 

Sungyeon acted fast. She propelled herself over the desk, discarding any loose papers that were on the surface, and grabbed ahold of the hood of their jacket. The person jerked backwards, toppling onto Sungyeon with their momentum. She twisted midair and pushed the person underneath them, jabbing them in the side with an elbow as hard as she could to take them aback. 

“Take off her mask,” Hyejoo egged on, having moved to the desk in the midst of the commotion. “I wanna find out who it is.”

Sungyeon gave the girl a side glare before obeying, mumbling about how she had wanted to do that  _ anyway _ . She pinned the person’s shoulders down with her knees and tugged on the bottom of the mask, pulling it up and over the features of-

“Heejin?” 

Two big brown eyes stared back at her, equally horrified. It was definitely her, that much Sungyeon knew. Anything else, though, she was clueless. 

“Well. That confirms my theory.” Hyejoo said, much to Sungyeon’s confusion. The girl left, presumably to go tell Kyungwon and Frostbite. Sungyeon, however, simply stared. Heejin knew the villains personally? Was she a traitor? 

She took multiple steps back, her heart pounding. Heejin worked with Pledis. She was betraying the agency. 

“It’s not what it looks like,” Heejin said slowly, reaching up to pull the rest of her mask off. Her ears flopped against her head, one getting in the way of her eye. She shook it away with a frown. “When Kyungwon gets here, I will explain.”

“When Kyungwon gets… you gave the anonymous tip to OSR?” Sungyeon said, and although she was just spitballing, the expression on Heejin’s face confirmed her theory. “You work for Pledis?”

“No.” Heejin said firmly. Hyejoo returned with the others then, filing into the small room one by one. The rabbit hero (or was she even a hero anymore?) nodded to Frostbite, who seemed to not respond. 

“Heejin.” Kyungwon said, and although she sounded surprised, her eyes held a certain type of sadness that pained even Sungyeon to see. “How long has this been going on?”   
  


“Ever since I was a trainee,” Heejin said slowly, setting her mask on her desk, “I don’t work for any organization except OSR, though.” 

“I’ve always assumed it was you,” Frostbite mused, leaning against the wall, “I’m glad I got to confirm my suspicions.”

Heejin hesitated for a moment, playing with her hands. She turned to Sungyeon and Kyungwon, moving around the desk to get closer to them. “Look. I go by The Rabbit when I’m working underground.” Heejin said, and Sungyeon was floored at how even her voice was. It was like the quiet and exhausted hero she had seen earlier in the day was an entirely different person. “I carry information to and from Pledis and OSR to prevent battles and misunderstandings.” 

“I wasn’t aware you were working for us at the moment,” Frostbite said, and her head immediately swiveled to Hyejoo. 

The girl didn’t seem phased, blinking slowly at the group. 

“I don’t know if this is something I can really talk about right now,” she said in an almost bored tone, “But my sisters and I hired her along with a few others.”

Sungyeon stared at her. Hyejoo didn’t seem like the type of person that would try and make situations seem better than they were, but she seemed to be holding quite a lot back. 

Frostbite surveyed her for a moment, and then seemed to give up. “Very well.” She said, reaching into her pocket and pulling out a pair of gloves. They were dark and seemed to be the same material as her coat. She slid them on delicately, and said, “As long as you aren’t planning on giving anyone false information, you may proceed.”

Heejin narrowed her eyes. “I wasn’t planning on it, but I’m glad I have your permission.” She said dryly. Her ears twitched, and she turned to Sungyeon and Kyungwon. “Guys, I need you to promise me that you won’t tell the others I’m behind this.” 

Sungyeon wasn’t sure how to respond. Sure, Heejin was a coworker, but she was a  _ traitor. _

“Do you get money for doing these deeds?” Kyungwon asked, seemingly on the same wavelength as Sungyeon. 

Heejin hesitated, glancing over at Hyejoo, who didn’t seem to be of any help. 

“I do,” Heejin said after a moment, “But I don’t accept any tasks that give away weak spots in OSR. I only convey information that could possibly hurt the agency more if they didn’t know.” 

“So when Bada was kidnapped,” Sungyeon said, her mind moving faster than she could handle, “Did you know about that? Would it have hurt the agency more if she wasn’t kidnapped?”

Heejin was quiet. Sungyeon didn’t care, though - she had her answer. 

“I just need you to promise me,” The bunny shifter said gently, “That you won’t tell the heroes.  _ Especially _ Kahi.”

“You have my word.” Kyungwon said. “Sungyeon’s, too.” 

Sungyeon was too numbed to retaliate. Hyejoo looked uncomfortable. 

Heejin visibly relaxed, her ears flopping back against her head. “Thank you,” she said softly, playing with the ends of her sleeves. “I really appreciate it.” 

In the silence, Sungyeon’s brain was raging. “So we came here for information and left with nothing we can actually tell our boss?” She asked, moreso to Kyungwon. The older hero looked just as upset as she felt, but nodded regardless. 

“I don’t think this is something we can just tell others, Sungy- Salem.” Kyungwon’s voice was firm, startlingly so. “We’re still trying to recover from our other hero’s…  _ mishap.” _ She said, looking more stressed in that moment than Sungyeon had ever seen before. 

It suddenly occurred to her that Nayoung standing up for Bada at the restaurant had an even bigger effect on the other heroes than she had anticipated. They all looked up to her and relied on her, and when she messed up, the others had to take the fall. 

She felt dumb for not realizing it sooner. They were supposed to be a team of heroes. It made her feel even more selfish for trying to infiltrate YG and attack them after Bada had been found. No one had said anything to her directly, but it became painfully obvious how the situation stressed the older heroes out. 

After a moment, Frostbite reached in her jacket and pulled a file folder out. She passed it to Kyungwon, who took it slowly. 

“Here’s information on our new line of executives,” she said with a look in Hyejoo’s direction. “If you need any information, you might as well take something that’s old news to us.”

Kyungwon flipped through it, pausing on a page Sungyeon couldn’t see. “There’s six of you now.” She closed the folder and looked up. “Why are you giving this to me?”

Frostbite shrugged. “You want me to be honest? I was supposed to bring that back to my boss, but he’s been pissing me off recently, so I’m rebelling. That, and,” she smirked, and Sungyeon couldn’t help but stare at her perfect teeth and how white they were, “Now you  _ owe  _ me.”

Her coworker flipped through the folder once more before tucking it inside her leather jacket. “Well, thank you, I guess.” She said, although it came out in the form of a growl. “We better take our leave, then.”

Heejin let out a sigh. “I’ll see you two tomorrow.” She said, although she didn’t sound nearly as excited as one would have hoped. Sungyeon’s eyes narrowed. 

Frostbite nodded slowly. “Yes. Wouldn’t want your friends to start worrying, would we?” Her gaze shifted to Sungyeon. “I would say that it was a pleasure to meet you, but it wasn’t.” 

_ Ouch. _ Sungyeon rolled her eyes and did a mock bow, and before she could see the villain’s reaction, she grabbed Kyungwon’s hand and moved to the exit quickly. 

“I’m sorry I didn’t help,” Sungyeon said once they were seated back on the motorcycle. “I froze up, and… I don’t know.”

Kyungwon shook her head. “Don’t worry about it.” She mumbled, grunting when Sungyeon wrapped her arms around her midsection. “I’m just glad you’re safe.”

The drive home was quiet, but Sungyeon’s mind occupied the quiet with more questions. What led Heejin to want to betray OSR like that? Why had Kahi not told anyone? Why had Kahi still let Heejin be a  _ hero _ when she was working for the bad guys?

All the questions hurt her head and made her tired. It didn’t help that Kyungwon’s motorcycle broke down on the way back to the agency, so they had to walk nearly half the distance back. The sun was setting when they finally stepped onto streets that were familiar. 

“That was certainly an interesting day.” Kyungwon said, speaking for the first time since they had left the forest. Sungyeon nodded, taking the lead down the sidewalk.

“Are you sure we aren’t going to tell Kahi?” She asked, pulling out her phone to send Yewon a text to let her know she was done for the day. They rounded the corner, and the glass windows of OSR gleamed in the setting sun. 

A grunt from behind her let Sungyeon know that Kyungwon was obviously too tired to respond. 

“I’ll take that as a ‘no’,” Sungyeon replied, flipping through a few social medias and updating herself on the day. Apparently Siyeon had been tweeting all day and updating her followers about her journey of baking bread. “Hey, did you see Siyeon’s twitter?”

There was no response. Sungyeon rolled her eyes. 

“Here, I’ll show you.” She said, stopping in the middle of the sidewalk to show Kyungwon her screen--

\--When she wasn’t there. 

“Kyungwon?” Sungyeon blinked. She looked back around the corner of the street, expecting to see the girl tying her shoelaces or talking to someone, but there was no one. The street was completely empty. 

She peeked in between the nearby buildings, trying not to get worried. The alleys were empty, too.

“This isn’t very funny.” She said out loud, and she frowned at how her voice echoed down the street. She used her wings to propel herself upwards, overlooking the nearest streets. There were a few people in other areas of the town, sure, but none of them had the same leather jacket and striking appearance as her coworker. 

She landed on the ground outside of the OSR building. Yewon was there, waiting outside the doors with a concerned frown. 

“What took you so long?” She asked, pocketing her phone and trotting over to meet her. Sungyeon felt her adrenaline run through her veins, confusion and worry blending to form an emotion she could only describe as panic. 

“I don’t know where Kyungwon is,” she said, putting her hands on her hips. “I was walking home with her, and I thought she was behind me, but she wasn’t.” 

Yewon pursed her lips. Then, “Maybe she just went home without telling you.” She reached out and grabbed Sungyeon’s hand. Warmth spread from the limb to the rest of her body almost immediately. “I can drive us around and we can look for her, if you’d like.”

Sungyeon winced and shook her head. She didn’t like the sound of that. “No, she’s an adult, she should be fine.” She interlaced her fingers with her friend’s and sighed. “Let’s just go home. I’m exhausted.”

Yewon gave her an eye smile. Sungyeon’s heart began to beat a bit quicker. “Sounds good. I heard Siyeon had a good day making treats for us.” 

“Don’t remind me,” she groaned as they walked to the car. “I wouldn’t be surprised if the kitchen wasn’t burned to the ground. Or the whole building, for that matter.”

Her friend’s laugh rang through the empty streets. “I agree. We’ll just have to see when we get there.” 

Siyeon had, in fact, not burned down the apartment complex, although it certainly smelled like it. The girl had instead burned every batch of bread she had tried to bake, stating she had gotten distracted on TikTok every time. 

The three of them sat down together and tried to eat whatever remnants of the bread they could, much to Siyeon’s delight. They talked about their days, and when it was Sungyeon’s turn, she hesitated. 

“We didn’t find much,” she said through a mouthful of charred bread that stuck to the roof of her mouth. “It was really weird though.” 

Siyeon raised her eyebrows quizzically, but didn’t press the matter. Sungyeon hated that she could tell when her friends were dancing around her - whether Yewon had texted Siyeon before they arrived, or the injured girl could just  _ tell _ that she was on edge, she wasn’t sure. She didn’t say anything about it, though. 

It wasn’t until Sungyeon was called into Kahi’s office the next morning and showed CCTV footage of the streets from the night before that she realized something was truly wrong. 

“You didn’t hear anything?” Kahi pressed, her hands running through her hair once again. Sungyeon shook her head dully, watching the footage play over and over again. In the video, a red hole appeared from the sidewalk behind Sungyeon, swallowing Kyungwon whole and taking her in a matter of seconds. 

Kyungwon was gone. 

**Author's Note:**

> Go to https://dystopiaz.carrd.co if you want to learn more about the characters, although more will be established later on in the story.


End file.
